{
  "id": 13326920,
  "title": "21 foreigners among 281 held in cybercrime cases in Lahore",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/21-foreigners-among-281-held-in-cybercrime-cases-in-lahore",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-10T04:27:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn - Pakistan",
    "slug": "dawn-pakistan",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2036013/21-foreigners-among-281-held-in-cybercrime-cases-in-lahore"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Lahore: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in Pakistan has made significant arrests in a crackdown on illegal call centers allegedly involved in financial fraud, online harassment, and honey-trapping. During operations conducted over the past week, the NCCIA Lahore Zone arrested 281 suspects, including 21 foreign nationals and 20 women. Additional Director Atif Ameer announced the arrests during a press conference, emphasizing the agency's determination to eliminate illegal call centers from Lahore. The 21 foreign nationals apprehended were from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Nepal. The NCCIA Lahore also recovered a substantial amount of digital equipment, including 362 mobile phones, 191 computer systems, 74 laptops, 127 other digital devices, and 550 SIM cards, which are currently undergoing forensic examination to gather evidence. The call centers involved in these cases were allegedly engaged in various cybercrimes, and the NCCIA remains committed to pursuing actions against foreign nationals involved in cybercrime. In addition to targeting illegal call centers, the NCCIA has been actively investigating cases involving children, including three suspects in child pornography cases arrested in the past week. The agency is collaborating with AI institutions to enhance its capabilities in detecting and investigating online offenses involving children. Furthermore, the NCCIA is pursuing cases related to online harassment, blackmailing, and the circulation of private photographs and videos, as well as financial fraud involving mobile wallets and bank accounts. The recovered digital devices are being thoroughly examined to collect evidence and establish facts related to the cybercrimes. The NCCIA has also been assigned responsibilities in anti-money laundering efforts and is strengthening its operational resources to counter emerging cyber threats. To assist citizens, the NCCIA Lahore Zone has introduced an open-court initiative, holding sessions three days a week to accept complaints from the public. When questioned about cricketer Mohammad Rizwan, Ameer revealed that Rizwan had voluntarily provided his mobile phone for forensic examination, and the outcome of the investigation would become clear after the examination was completed.",
  "summary": "LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested 281 suspects, including 21 foreign nationals and 20 women, during operations against seven illegal call centres allegedly involved in financial fraud, online harassment and honey-trapping. NCCIA Lahore Zone Additional Director Atif Ameer, during a press conference here on Friday, said that the agency had intensified its…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}