71 foreign nationals involved in online fraud arrested in Pakistan

Lahore, Jul 9 (PTI) Pakistani authorities have arrested 71 foreign nationals, including 48 Chinese citizens, in connection with a major online fraud operation, an official said on Wednesday.

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) raided a call centre in the Punjab province's Faisalabad city, about 130 km from Lahore, on Tuesday and detained 150 people.

Among them were suspects from China, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Myanmar, the official said.

Those arrested included 44 men and four women from China, three men and five women from Nigeria, three Filipinos, two Sri Lankans, six Bangladeshis, one Zimbabwean and two women from Myanmar.

According to the official, the foreigners were allegedly involved in hacking banking systems and committing various cybercrimes.

The call centre, reportedly owned by a former senior government official, was also linked to Ponzi schemes that defrauded victims of millions of rupees.

Authorities seized a large number of laptops and electronic devices during the raid. Cases have been registered under relevant sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act. PTI MZ SKS SKS GRS GRS