ISLAMABAD: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested four suspects accused of exploiting and blackmailing children and distributing sexually abusive videos online.
At a press conference, NCCIA Islamabad Additional Director Muhammad Shoaib Khan said investigators first detained one suspect and found about 50 to 60 videos on his phone. The inquiry led to three further arrests and uncovered what officials described as a wider network.
Khan said the suspects allegedly approached children aged six to 14 on Instagram, building trust with gifts, prizes, mobile transfers, internet packages and phone credit. They then allegedly lured some children into meeting them, recorded abusive videos and used the footage to threaten victims and pressure them to help target others.
The suspects are also accused of selling the videos to buyers in Pakistan and abroad. Khan said investigators had found WhatsApp groups in several cities where such material was allegedly shared and traded.
He urged parents and guardians to stay alert, supervise children’s online activity and take steps to protect them from online abuse.
In a separate case, the NCCIA recently rescued a 13-year-old girl in Karachi who investigators said had been targeted by an online network allegedly linked to the dark web. The girl was reportedly instructed to engage in animal cruelty and self-harm.
The agency opened that investigation after receiving information from a foreign intelligence service about suspicious online activity. Additional Director Tariq Nawaz said investigators used details including an email address and IP addresses to trace the activity to Karachi, where they determined that the person connected to it was a victim, not a perpetrator.
