273 arrested in NCCIA raid on Karachi call centre, 339 laptops seized

KARACHI: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested 273 people during a raid on a call centre in Karachi’s Shahrah-e-Faisal, seizing 339 laptops, 152 mobile phones and four CPUs, ARY News reported.

According to reports, the raid was conducted on Tuesday night at a large call centre where more than 250 employees, including young boys and girls, were working.

The investigation revealed that the call centre had been operating for several years and was previously raided in 2025. At that time, a case was registered against its owners and management, but the employees were released. Following the action, the management reportedly restarted operations and recruited underage boys and girls.

The correspondent reported that around 42 employees did not even have national identity cards. However, they were proficient in English and used their language skills to target American citizens.

The suspects allegedly offered credit card schemes and low-interest loan offers, mainly targeting retired people. They obtained sensitive information about victims’ credit cards and bank accounts through these offers and subsequently carried out financial scams.

According to the report, employees were assigned daily targets of 15 to 20 people. The operation allegedly involved a large-scale financial scam worth billions of dollars over a period of more than a year.

The investigation also pointed to a wider financial network involving merchants, hawala and hundi operators and black money to transfer the proceeds of the fraud to Pakistan and other people involved.

NCCIA officials said employees had also been arrested in the latest operation, unlike previous raids in which action was mainly taken against owners and management. The agency said some employees released during earlier operations had joined other fraudulent call centres.

The agency is also considering taking legal action against parents under Section 109 if their children are involved in criminal activities, officials said.

Meanwhile, the arrested suspects were produced before a court through video link. The NCCIA investigation officer told the court that the accused were involved in fraud against foreign nationals.

The court ordered the release on bail of suspects under the age of 18 and women, while other accused were sent to jail on judicial remand.

According to the lawyer, more than 70 underage suspects and over 80 women were among those arrested. Relatives of the suspects also staged a protest on Shahrah-e-Faisal.

The Home Department has declared the call centre a sub-jail, while a heavy police contingent has been deployed at the premises.