Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Saturday arrested four suspects in cross-country raids for their alleged links with an international child pornography ring being operated from the US.
According to the agency, the raids had been carried out on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Geo News said in a report. The group would operate by selling pornographic material comprising minors, it said, adding that Interpol had approached Pakistan and shared information of the suspects, prompting the arrests.
One of the suspects, the FIA added, has been arrested today from Sialkot. The man, identified as Arsalan, was in contact with the criminal group. They said that 225 gigabytes of the data was recovered from Arsalan alone. Earlier, they added, three suspects were arrested from Karachi, Faisalabad and Gujranwala and objectionable material was recovered from their possession.
The agency further said it is probing the matter to unearth other illegal activity and take action as required. It added that it is using the data shared by Interpol as the basis of the case.
In a historic move in 2016, Pakistan criminalised child pornography, making the crime punishable by seven years of imprisonment and Rs 0.7 million of fine. The amendment named Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2015 also made child trafficking a punishable offense.
According to the agency, the raids had been carried out on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Geo News said in a report. The group would operate by selling pornographic material comprising minors, it said, adding that Interpol had approached Pakistan and shared information of the suspects, prompting the arrests.
One of the suspects, the FIA added, has been arrested today from Sialkot. The man, identified as Arsalan, was in contact with the criminal group. They said that 225 gigabytes of the data was recovered from Arsalan alone. Earlier, they added, three suspects were arrested from Karachi, Faisalabad and Gujranwala and objectionable material was recovered from their possession.
The agency further said it is probing the matter to unearth other illegal activity and take action as required. It added that it is using the data shared by Interpol as the basis of the case.
In a historic move in 2016, Pakistan criminalised child pornography, making the crime punishable by seven years of imprisonment and Rs 0.7 million of fine. The amendment named Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2015 also made child trafficking a punishable offense.