- Gang masterminded by a German citizen busted during operation on May 23: Talal Ch
ISLAMABAD: The National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has uncovered a “huge network” of a “child sexual exploitation” gang operating in Punjab’s Muzaffargarh district and arrested two suspects, besides recovering 10 children.
The revelation was made by Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry at a press conference in Islamabad, saying the gang was busted during an operation conducted on May 23.
The Minister of State for Interior informed that a German citizen masterminded the international gang operating a child sexual exploitation group in Muzaffargarh, asserting efforts will be made to arrest the German national.
“They set up a small club where children aged 6-10 years were taught games. They provided state-of-the-art facilities and modern cameras,” he said.
He added that children from disadvantaged families were “brought there, given money, and then blackmailed” to exploit them, and “their videos were uploaded on the dark web daily and sold for thousands of dollars.”
“Some videos were live-streamed and seen around the world from Muzaffargarh,” the state minister said, adding as many as 50 children had been victimized by the grooming gang, while “ten children were handed over to the Child Protection Bureau.”
He mentioned that on May 23, the NCCIA launched an operation lasting five hours with assistance from other agencies, leading to the arrest of two suspects.
The minister regretted that unfortunately, families and parents of some children were also involved in the nefarious crime and action has been initiated against them.
The minister went on to say that the workforce of the agency should be increased threefold and a branch should be set up in every district. “The interior minister and prime minister have been requested to increase funds for the NCCIA in the budget,” he said.
Minister Chaudhry revealed that the NCCIA takes prompt action when the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), an international organization, provides information in this regard.
He detailed that 178 first information reports have been lodged against child exploitation, 198 suspects have been arrested, and fourteen were jailed for between four and ten years.
