Islamabad:
The Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) repressed the criminals using foreign mobile phone SIM cards, bringing together 44 suspects from different parts of the country, a senior agency cybercrime official said on Friday.
Speaking at a press conference, Waqaruddin Syed, the additional director general of the Cybercrime Fia wing, said that the British pre-activated SIM cards appeared to the most popular among the people involved in cybercrimes in Pakistan.
“New methods are used to harass people and a way is the use of foreign mobile sims [Subscriber Identity Modules] are used in cybercrimes, such as financial fraud, kidnapping for ransom, juvenile pornography and terrorism, “said Syed at a press conference in the Federal capital.
“Above all, British Sims are used in Pakistan, as they are easily available on the market, and are also cheap. Added.
According to Syed, the FIA recorded 21 cases against the illegal purchase and sale of international sims and arrested 44 suspects. He also said that 8,363 British sims were found in raids in various cities, including Multan, Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Sukkur and Abbottabad.
“These sims are illegally brought to Pakistan and purchased by online orders – in cash on delivery – through social media platforms such as Tiktok, Instagram and Facebook,” said Syed, adding that the FIA was taking measures against persons involved under cybercrime law.
The FIA official asked social media companies to keep the user data of these SIMS, because if such Sims were linked to terrorism or other heinous crimes, strict measures would be taken against their users. However, he assured that there would be no problem for those who legally used such Sims.
“A national repression has been launched. This repression is only the beginning and other actions will be taken to eradicate cybercrimes in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan will raise this issue with the British authorities,” he said.
PTA raids
The zonal offices of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) in Sukkur and Faisalabad, in collaboration with the FIA cybercrime wing, have succeeded in raids targeting the pre-activated issuance and sale of pre-activated international and local simulations.
In Sukkur, a raid at the clock tower led to confiscation two international sims and five pre-activated jazz SIM cards. According to a press release on Friday, the store owner was arrested by the FIA and a FIR was filed.
Meanwhile, in Faisalabad, joint raids were made in three places, resulting in the arrest of two people involved in the illegal sale of international sims. The Sims recovered have been seized and the FIR are underway. Additional investigations and legal proceedings are underway.
