Official says 273 arrested in NCCIA raid on 'illegal' call centre on Karachi's Sharea Faisal

Karachi: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) announced on Thursday the arrest of 273 individuals from a call centre on Sharea Faisal, accusing them of involvement in an international fraud network. NCCIA Additional Director Shahzad Akbar revealed during a press conference that the operation on November 4 netted 339 laptops, 152 mobile phones, and four computers.

The accused were associated with a call centre named Voxtron Solutions, allegedly operating under the guise of providing debt validation services. Investigators found that personnel posing as representatives of foreign banks contacted victims abroad to solicit information for financial transactions, which were then executed through merchant accounts.

The stolen funds were allegedly transferred to Pakistan. Akbar emphasized that the arrested individuals would be further investigated and charged under multiple provisions of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016. Local residents and the suspects' families protested the raid and arrests, particularly those of around 100 women, alleging their children's involvement in the illegal activities. Traffic was temporarily disrupted, but it was restored by early afternoon.