NCCIA busts international child exploitation network, main suspect arrested

ISLAMABAD: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has conducted a major operation that exposed an international network responsible for spreading child exploitation material (immoral content regarding children), ARY News reported.

The NCCIA made headway in the international operations “Roads” and “Iceberg,” and the network was unearthed with the cooperation of the Australian Police, Interpol, and other international institutions.

The groups involved in spreading objectionable content were identified on WhatsApp and Telegram.

The groups named “Rainbow” and “Mallowdale ken” were active on the social media platforms.

The accused was spreading the objectionable content on the social media platforms, and the main accused, named Asim Mahmood Qasim, who hails from Lahore’s Ichra area, has been arrested.

Mobile phone data, social media evidence, and hard drives were also recovered from the possession of the accused, and a case has also been lodged against the culprit.

The NCCIA also recovered pictures and videos of abused underage girls from the accused. The accused was involved in making and propagating illegal content.

The NCCIA added that the accused’s alleged links in the South American countries of Brazil and Portugal surfaced in Interpol and other international reports.

The NCCIA has started the process of collecting more evidence regarding the issue.