FIA arrests impersonator blackmailing govt officers

PESHAWAR: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested a car mechanic who had been posing as the deputy director (DD) of the agency to extort money and valuables from government officials, an official said on Thursday.

The FIA official said that Sajjad Hussain, hailing from Haripur, used various tactics and targeted officials by claiming to be conducting investigations against them, collecting call data, and gathering personal information from social media.

“The accused used spoofing technology to trap government officials. Recently he contacted a tehsildar, alleging an inquiry against him,” the official said.The accused demanded the tehsildar to bring gold to a local hotel, where Hussain and his accomplices were waiting.

“After the FIA was informed about the accused, a raiding party arrested Sajjad Hussain from Hayatabad. Among the items recovered were a fake FIA official card, two mobile phones, and forged CNICs.,” he said. During the investigation, it was revealed that the imposter obtained officials’ details from social media and acquired call data for a nominal fee.

Hussain confessed to blackmailing numerous officers, including females and lady doctors, in the past, and had also been imprisoned for a few years in Abbottabad.An FIA spokesman said that the agency did not initiate inquiries via phone calls and urged individuals receiving such calls to report to their local FIA office.

Meanwhile, FIA teams have arrested three currency dealers implicated in hundi and hawala activities, recovering approximately Rs3.1 million. The officials said ongoing raids across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were targeting those involved in illegal money transactions.