NCCIA arrests two for blackmailing women online

LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) Lahore has arrested two suspects allegedly involved in blackmailing and harassing women through explicit photos and videos, besides threatening to leak their private content on social media.

According to an NCCIA spokesperson on Monday, the operations were carried out on the directions of Punjab NCCIA Director Muhammad Ali Waseem as part of the agency’s ongoing crackdown against cyber-enabled harassment and online exploitation.

In the first operation, the agency arrested suspect Farhan Gohar from Lahore. During the raid, officials recovered a mobile phone containing objectionable material related to the victim. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect had allegedly been threatening to upload the victim’s private content on social media.

In a separate operation, the NCCIA arrested suspect Muhammad Mushtaq from Kasur. Two mobile phones containing explicit material were recovered from his possession.

Investigators found that the suspect had allegedly been blackmailing the victim and had also shared the objectionable content with the victim’s relatives.

Director Muhammad Ali Waseem said there would be zero tolerance for individuals involved in blackmail, online harassment and exploitation through explicit content.

He said those targeting the dignity, privacy and honour of women and other citizens did not deserve any leniency, adding that all persons involved in cybercrimes would be brought to justice through strict legal action.