15 foreigners arrested as NCCIA busts ‘international cartel’ involved in $60m cyber fraud

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has busted an “international cartel” allegedly involved in cyber fraud worth around 60 million dollars, arresting 15 foreign nationals during a raid in Karachi, Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar said on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference along with NCCIA Additional Director Tariq Nawaz, the minister said the suspects were running online investment scams, targeting victims through social media platforms and messaging applications.

According to Lanjar, the fraudsters built trust with victims over weeks or months and lured them into investing in cryptocurrency and foreign exchange trading with promises of high returns. Victims were asked to create logins on fake investment platforms, where they were shown fictitious profits to convince them their money was growing.

He said a joint operation by NCCIA and other intelligence and law enforcement agencies was carried out last week in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Phases 1 and 6, resulting in the arrest of 15 foreign nationals, including three women, and 19 Pakistani citizens.

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During the raids, authorities recovered 37 computers, 40 mobile phones, more than 10,000 international SIM cards, and six illegal gateway exchange devices. The seized equipment was allegedly used to create fake social media and Telegram accounts to generate artificial audiences and manipulate victims.

Lanjar said the international SIM cards were used to receive one-time passwords and verification codes for creating Telegram and other online accounts, as well as for communication on messaging platforms.

He explained that another key part of the scam involved collecting funds in bank accounts of targeted countries, converting the money into cryptocurrency, and transferring it across borders to the main beneficiaries.

Describing the modus operandi, the home minister said victims were shown fake profits to maintain confidence, but once their supposed investment reached around 5,000 dollars, they were asked to pay additional fees under various pretexts. After the payments were made, the victims’ accounts were blocked.

Lanjar estimated the total fraud at around 60 million dollars and said technical and financial investigations were continuing, with further developments expected.

He said the matter involved nationals of two or three countries with which Pakistan has important relations, adding that the foreign and interior ministries had taken up the issue with the concerned countries. However, he declined to disclose the nationalities of the arrested foreigners.

NCCIA Additional Director Tariq Nawaz said both locals and foreign nationals were involved, and that victims included people from Pakistan as well as other countries. He described the case as “the tip of the iceberg,” noting that cybercrime has no geographical boundaries.

He expressed hope that the operation would lead to a significant decline in online fraud.

On Sunday, a judicial magistrate remanded 22 suspects, including eight foreign nationals, to prison. NCCIA has registered cases against the accused under various provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) and the Pakistan Penal Code.