NCCIA arrests 273 people, including 42 minors, in Karachi call centre raid over alleged fraud targeting US citizens
The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency says it arrested 273 people, including more than 100 women and 42 minors, at a call centre in Karachi's PECHS area accused of defrauding people in the United States, and a court has granted a two-day remand of nine prime suspects.
Pakistan's National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested 273 people, including more than 100 women and 42 minors, during a raid on a call centre in Karachi accused of defrauding people in the United States through fake credit card and loan offers.
NCCIA Additional Director Shahzad Akbar announced the arrests at a press conference in Karachi on Thursday, saying the operation targeted a call centre in the PECHS neighbourhood, alongside Shahrah-e-Faisal, one of the city's busiest roads. The raid was carried out on the night of Tuesday, 3 November, at around 8pm to 9pm, according to eyewitnesses quoted by The Express Tribune.
The call centre, identified in reports as Voxtron, was allegedly running a large-scale fraud operation in which staff used false names and fake identities to telephone people in the United States. Investigators say the callers offered credit card schemes and low-interest loans, mainly targeting retired people, and used personal and financial details to defraud their victims.
Officials seized 152 mobile phones and four CPUs during the raid, along with hundreds of laptops. Reports differ on the exact number of laptops recovered: ARY News and Dunya News put the figure at 339, while The Express Tribune and Pakistan Today report 3,390. The NCCIA said the seized laptops contained fake identity documents and credit card details.
Among those arrested were more than 100 women and 42 boys and girls under the age of 18, the agency said. Defence counsel later told the court that the detainees included more than 70 juveniles and over 80 women. Around 42 of the workers did not even hold national identity cards, according to reports, although they spoke fluent English and used those language skills to target American citizens.
Investigators say the call centre had been operating for several years and had already been raided once before, in 2025. After that earlier action, the management reportedly restarted the operation and began recruiting underage boys and girls to work the phones, a claim now central to the case against the network.
A judicial magistrate in Karachi granted the NCCIA a two-day physical remand of nine prime suspects in the case on Thursday. The suspects were produced before Judicial Magistrate East Gulraiz Memon through a video link, while the investigating officer presented a notification from the Sindh Home Department declaring the call centre premises a temporary sub-jail, where all 273 arrested people were being held.
The court ordered the release on bail of female suspects and those below the age of 18, against surety bonds of Rs5,000 each, and sent the remaining suspects to jail on judicial remand. A heavy police contingent has been deployed at the premises.
The scale of the problem extends well beyond a single call centre, according to the NCCIA. Shahzad Akbar told ARY News that between 300 and 350 scam and skimming call centres were operating in Karachi, and that the agency had decided to show no concession to those involved. He said action had been taken against one of three major companies operating in the sector, and a case had been registered against the entire network.
The agency also said it would bring the parents of underage workers into the legal process under Section 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code, and that its investigation into the suspected overseas links of the network was continuing. Officials say the fraud may have run into billions of dollars over more than a year, although no final figure has been confirmed.
The case is likely to sharpen scrutiny of Karachi's sprawling call centre industry, the employment of minors in late-night shifts, and the regulation of businesses that handle the personal data of foreign citizens. For now, the NCCIA says its investigation is continuing, with further arrests and action against other centres possible in the coming days.
More in Pakistan News
Photo: An evening view of Mazar-e-Iqbal, the tomb of Allama Muhammad Iqbal in Lahore (file image)
Pakistan NewsFederal government declares 9 November a nationwide public holiday to mark Iqbal Day's 149th anniversary
The Cabinet Division has confirmed Monday, 9 November 2026, as a public holiday across Pakistan for Iqbal Day, with banks and schools also closed and a three-day weekend in prospect.
Photo: A motorway in Pakistan (file image)
Pakistan NewsEleven killed and 33 injured as bus collides with truck on Depalpur Road near Pakpattan
A passenger bus travelling from Multan to Kasur collided with a truck near the 17 SP Stop, killing 11 people including rescue and highway patrol personnel, as an emergency was declared at Pakpattan's District Headquarters Hospital.
Photo: Rawalakot, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan (file image)
Pakistan NewsDeadly crackdown on months-long protest sit-in in Rawalakot as casualty reports conflict
Security forces moved to clear the Joint Awami Action Committee's months-long sit-in in Rawalakot early on Thursday, with protest groups reporting several deaths and injuries, though the toll remains unverified and police have confirmed no deaths.