NCCIA busts international network exploiting children, producing underage p*rn

The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested four suspects linked to an international network accused of exploiting children and producing and selling sexually explicit videos of minors. Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on Friday, NCCIA Additional Director Muhammad Shoaib Khan said that investigators recovered around 50 to 60 objectionable videos involving children from a mobile phone belonging to a child. 'The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of the four suspects,' he added. Khan explained that the suspects allegedly contacted children aged between six and 14 through Instagram and other social media platforms. They allegedly offered them money before coercing them into recording explicit videos, which were then shared through WhatsApp groups and sold to buyers internationally. He also revealed that the agency had previously secured convictions against two Chinese nationals in cases involving child sexual abuse material. The arrests come as the NCCIA continues operations against online child exploitation, blackmail and digital fraud. On October 10, the agency signed agreements with international Artificial Intelligence (AI) organisations to strengthen its capacity to detect and investigate online offences against children. NCCIA Lahore Additional Director Atif Ameer said that AI-assisted analysis had helped investigators identify a suspect in Gujranwala, leading to his arrest. In another operation in Lahore on October 7, the NCCIA arrested 39 people, including a woman, over allegations that an illegal call centre used AI-generated explicit images to blackmail people who had taken digital loans. Investigators alleged that the operation exploited access to borrowers' mobile phone galleries and contact lists. The agency seized 40 laptops and 41 mobile phones for forensic examination. In a separate operation, the NCCIA arrested 473 foreign nationals during raids on call centres across Pakistan over their alleged involvement in financial fraud, Khan said. He added that the suspects posed as bank representatives in Malaysia, China and India to defraud victims. The agency also detained 22 suspects in cyber harassment cases over the past week, according to Khan. He said that female NCCIA officers had been assigned to investigate these cases.