Sending sexually explicit videos: Man arrested for using PUBG, 8 Ball Pool to blackmail children

GUJRANWALA: A man who used online games such as PUBG and 8 Ball Pool to blackmail children into sending sexually explicit videos has been arrested, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) confirmed on Sunday, adding that he was detained following an operation in Jamshoro.

The deputy director of the FIA's Cyber Crime Wing, Mohammad Iqbal, said several pornographic and sexually explicit videos were recovered from the suspect during the raid. A first information report (FIR) has been registered against him as well, he added.

The man befriended children through PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, an online battle royale game popularly known as PUBG, and multiplayer video game 8 Ball Pool, Iqbal explained. The FIA official said the suspect also used to solicit sexually explicit videos from children by luring them in with offers of giving them PUBG's in-game currency, G-Coins.

"In the past, the culprit had forced some children into sending him videos of their families, after which he would blackmail them," he added. The parents of one of the kids had earlier submitted a request to investigate the matter and register a case against the suspect, Iqbal explained.

The alleged paedophile has cyber-abused and threatened children from Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab along with their families, the FIA official said. The criminal investigation and cybercrime agency was investigating the sale of pornographic videos by the suspect as well, Iqbal stated.

Earlier this week, another Pakistani man from Punjab was arrested for allegedly sharing and owning sexually-explicit videos of kids after Brazil — through the help of the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) — shared documents and other evidence linking him to an international child pornography ring.

The man, identified as Riaz, a resident of Narowal, was in possession of more than 600 sexually-explicit videos of children, according to the FIA's Cyber Crime Wing in Gujranwala. He was working for a global child sex abuse ring, it added. The man's laptop and other devices were sent for forensic testing and a case filed against him.