KARACHI: A judicial magistrate on Thursday remanded two men in the custody of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in a case pertaining to their alleged involvement in online financial fraud.

The NCCIA had apprehended two suspects on Wednesday in a raid near the Disco Bakery area in Gulshan-i-Iqbal for committing offences under Sections 13 (electronic forgery), 14 (electronic fraud) and 16 (unauthorised use of identity information) of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 read with Section 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 109 (abetment) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Investigating Officer Ameer Ali Khoso produced two suspects — Muhammad Imran alias Boss and Faisal — before Judicial Magistrate (East) Yusra Ashfaq and sought their physical custody for further interrogation.

IO Khoso informed the court that an FIR was registered against six suspects — all residents of Okara district — on the complaint of a woman who was allegedly one of the victims of their fraudulent activities.

He added that the complainant stated to the NCCIA that she had provided her personal information, including fingerprints, for registration of “free grocery items and Rs2,000 in cash” during Ramazan at a camp set up near Nagan Chowrangi.

Later, she discovered that a bank account has been opened in her name at a private bank without her consent or knowledge.

IO Khoso said that after receiving the complaint, the NCCIA found in its initial investigation that suspect Muhammad Imran, along with his gang members operating in Okara, were involved in financial fraud, primarily targeting the public by luring them with promises of job visas on social media platforms and other opportunities.

He added that the suspects allegedly collected money from victims as visa processing fees through online fraud and routed these amounts through benami (fake) accounts, which were opened using credentials obtained from the victims by luring them.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2025