Two arrested as FIA unearths illegal call centre

LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) Lahore has unearthed an illegal call centre in Johar Town allegedly engaged in international online financial scams, arresting two suspects during a raid.

According to FIA officials, the action was carried out on Monday in Johar Town. The call centre was found operating on the second floor of the building. Two suspects — Munawar Hayat, son of Zubair Ahmad, and Taimoor Hussain, son of Manzoor Hussain — were apprehended at the spot.

The FIR (No. 228/2025) registered at FIA Lahore states that the accused were involved in contacting foreign nationals through fraudulent schemes. They allegedly extracted credit card details by luring victims into various offers and later used the data for financial scams.

During the raid, FIA teams recovered multiple mobile phones, laptops, and other digital devices believed to have been used in the illegal activities. The recovered items have been taken into custody for forensic examination. Officials confirmed that the case has been registered under sections 3, 4, 13, 14, and 16 of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, read with sections 109, 419, 420, 468, and 471 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Inspector M Azeem of FIA Lahore has been designated as the investigation officer. Authorities said that further investigation is in progress and that more arrests may follow based on the evidence collected.

FIA Lahore arrests six suspects

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Lahore Zone has arrested six suspects involved in human trafficking, illegal hawala-hundi operations, and copyright infringements. According to the FIA spokesperson, the raids were carried out by the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle and the Corporate Crime Circle Lahore. The arrested suspects include M Salman, Ubaidullah, Shafiq Khan, M Ramzan, M Raza, and M Aleem.

Suspect M Salman allegedly defrauded a citizen of Rs500,000 by promising a Saudi Arabia work visa but failed to deliver and went into hiding. Ubaidullah and Shafiq Khan were found involved in illegal hawala-hundi and currency exchange, from whom Rs1.65 million, along with relevant documents and digital evidence, were recovered. M Ramzan, M Raza, and M Aleem were caught violating the Copyright Act. A large quantity of counterfeit products of registered companies was seized from them. The suspects were arrested from various areas of Okara and Lahore, and investigations have been initiated.

Furthermore, the FIA Lahore Zonal Office convened a crime meeting of the Anti-Human Trafficking Circle. The Circle In-Charge presented a detailed briefing on performance. The director expressed satisfaction over the progress but instructed further improvements.

He directed that all pending inquiries and investigations be completed on merit without delay, stressing that no leniency would be tolerated in high-profile cases. He emphasized intelligence-based actions against organised groups involved in human smuggling and boat tragedies, calling for maximum use of resources for the arrest of suspects. He ordered a crackdown against elements involved in forced labor and sending people abroad for begging. Institutional credibility and operational performance must be enhanced through new initiatives, he added.The meeting also underscored the need for professional training of FIA officers, particularly the capacity-building of recently recruited officials.