KARACHI: A local court on Saturday remanded in judicial custody three suspects detained for allegedly stealing information of credit/debit cards of Americans and using it to commit online fraud.

FIA cybercrime officials arrested an IT expert, Mohammad Asif Mughal and booked him along with call centre employees Sharon, Sylvester and Sohail Iqbal for allegedly stealing information of American credit/debit card holders and illegally using them for online fraud.

On Saturday, the investigating officer produced Mughal, Sylvester and Iqbal before the judicial magistrate (East) to seek their physical remand for interrogation and investigation.

The judge remanded them in judicial custody, directing the IO to produce them on the next date along with an investigation report.

The IO informed that Asif Mughal, an IT expert doing job of web designing at home, used to obtain details of American credit/debit cards from Sharon and Sylvester, who were both call centre agents, against a commission on committing online financial fraud.

He further said that Mughal used to search for the credit/debit cards on the internet and afterwards used such cards on different websites for online shopping.

He allegedly made around 10 transactions and got transferred an amount of $5,000 for these transactions upon which the sellers received 40 per cent commission and Mughal received 60pc of the payment/commission, added the IO.

He further said that Mughal usually used American credit cards to place online orders and sent the purchased items to his friends by using American website Aero.com.

In 2014, he charged $1,500/$2,000 from an American credit card on the eBay and Amazon online sale/purchase websites, besides placing orders of food worth Rs100,000 through a local online food delivery app.

A case was registered against them under relevant sections of the law at the Cyber Crime Reporting Centre, Karachi.

Hearing of May 12 violence cases put off

An antiterrorism court put off on Saturday the hearing of cases pertaining to May 12 violence due to absence of Waseem Akhtar, the main accused, who is a former Karachi mayor and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader, for having contracted coronavirus.

Around 50 people were killed and over 100 wounded in attacks on rallies organised by members of political parties and legal fraternity who had attempted to receive the

then deposed chief justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, at the Karachi airport ahead of a lawyers’ gathering.

On Saturday, seven identical cases came up before the ATC-VII judge.

The state prosecutor produced around nine prosecution witnesses to record their testimonies in seven identical cases registered at the Airport police station, but their statements could not be recorded.

Defence counsel Mushtaq Ahmed moved an application on behalf of Waseem Akhtar along with a Covid-19 positive report (of Mr Akhtar) and requested the judge to condone his absence till his recovery from the illness.

Allowing the request, the judge fixed the matter for Sept 4, directing the witnesses and the accused to appear on next date for recording their testimonies.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2021