RAWALPINDI: About 231 foreigners detained by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) in two separate cases about four days ago were on Sunday shifted to the Central Jail Adiala and District Jail Attock.

According to sources, of the 231 foreigners, the majority of whom were Vietnamese, 205 were shifted to the Adiala jail and the remaining 26 to the Attock jail amid tight security.

Earlier, a court had ordered their placement on 14-day judicial remand; however, the suspects could not be shifted to any jail. After completion of the judicial remand, the arrested foreigners will be produced before court for further legal proceedings.

It may be noted that a total of 372 foreigners were detained during two separate raids by the FIA and NCCIA on a plaza located in a private housing society. The law enforcement agencies had also seized their gadgets/devices, including mobile phones and laptops, and would return to them before their deportation.

The remaining 141 foreigners are also likely to be shifted to the Adiala and Attock jails. After the completion of legal proceeding against the foreigners, they will be deported to their respective countries, sources said.

After being detained by the FIA and NCCIA, the foreigners were kept in the commercial building in Islamabad where they had been detained. The building was declared a sub-jail and a notification in this regard was issued by the commissioner Islamabad. Due to their large number, they were not shifted to the jails soon after their detention.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Cell of the FIA Islamabad Zone raided the plaza on Wednesday night and registered a case against 258 foreign nationals for activities contrary to their authorised visas and running call centres etc., under section 14 of the Foreigners Act.

Shortly after the FIA raid, NCCIA also conducted a raid on an alleged call centre in the same building and detained 114 foreigners -- 111 Chinese and three Vietnamese -- for deriving financial benefits through online immoral activities.

Since producing such a large number of suspects before the court was not possible, the arrested foreigners were produced through video link in the court of Judicial Magistrate Naseeruddin on Thursday. The court sent them on a 14-day judicial remand for further investigation.

According to officials, FIA Islamabad Zone Director Shahzad Nadeem Bukhari received information about the presence of the foreigners at the plaza and their alleged involvement in operating call centres and other activities.

After necessary verification, the FIA Anti-Human Smuggling and Trafficking Circle raided the building.

It was revealed that the 258 foreigners belonging to Vietnam, Indonesia, China, etc. had come to Pakistan on various visa categories. The FIA officials checked the record of the foreigners through IBMS and confirmed that all of them had visit/tourist or business visas.

However, the foreigners were found in a large call centre-style setup in the plaza. It was found that the activities of the foreigners were not in line with the declared purpose of their visas.

The role of other people involved in the matter will be determined during the investigation, the officials said.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2026