The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) have arrested around 400 foreign nationals, including 258 Chinese citizens, during a joint crackdown in Islamabad. According to media reports, the FIA has registered a case against the arrested foreigners. The suspects include nationals of China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.
According to the FIR, Vietnamese nationals were found at a Plaza in Gulberg Greens. The foreigners were verified through the Integrated Border Management System (IBMS). The Vietnamese nationals had entered Pakistan on visit, tourist and business visas. The suspects were allegedly involved in illegal business activities in violation of the terms of their visas and were operating an illegal call centre.
Meanwhile, the FIA has arrested 17 suspects allegedly involved in human trafficking during separate operations in Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot. According to an FIA spokesperson, the suspects allegedly defrauded citizens by promising to send them abroad and extorted millions of rupees from them. The spokesperson said 10 suspects were arrested from the Gujranwala Circle, five from Gujrat and two from the Sialkot Circle. On the other hand, NCCIA has launched a major crackdown on a cyber fraud network, arresting 28 suspects in Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan.
The action was taken on the directives of the NCCIA Punjab Director against individuals allegedly involved in cyber fraud. According to authorities, 18 suspects belonging to an alleged fraud gang were arrested in Lahore. The suspects were allegedly involved in defrauding citizens of millions of rupees through various deceptive methods.
Officials said the suspects allegedly posed as government officials, visa agents and relatives of victims to carry out the fraud. In Faisalabad, three suspects allegedly involved in online trading scams and email hacking were arrested. Authorities said a citizen suffered a financial loss of more than Rs5.4 million as a result of their activities.
Seven more suspects allegedly linked to the fraud network were arrested in Multan. Among those arrested is a UK-based individual, while some suspects allegedly posed as bank officials to defraud citizens. The NCCIA said 24 mobile phones and laptops were recovered from the suspects. Forensic analysis of the devices is underway, while investigators are also examining the suspects’ financial transactions.