Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean nationals are among 149 people arrested in Pakistan following a police raid on a scam call centre, according to the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA).
The arrests took place in Faisalabad, and a local court later handed over 69 suspects to the NCCIA on five-day physical remand.
Another 62 were placed on 14-day judicial remand. Seven cases related to financial fraud and deception have been filed against the suspects.
The group includes 78 Pakistani nationals, with the rest being foreign citizens from countries including China, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Myanmar. Among those arrested were 18 women.The NCCIA said in a statement:
During the raid, a large call centre was uncovered, which was involved in Ponzi schemes and investment fraud.
Through this fraudulent network, the public was being deceived, and vast sums of money were being illegally collected.
The agency said it acted on a tip-off about the scam network operating in Faisalabad, an eastern manufacturing city in Pakistan.
The raid took place at the home of Tasheen Awan, the former head of the city’s power grid, who has not been arrested.
According to the police report, victims were first given small returns on initial investments to gain their trust before being convinced to invest larger amounts. It said:
The charged individuals ran WhatsApp groups where they lured ordinary people by assigning small investment tasks like subscribing to different TikTok and YouTube channels.
Later, they shifted them to Telegram links for further online tasks requiring larger investments.
For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe Follow Africa-Press
