NCCIA says it traced alleged Telegram network trading child sexual abuse videos
Pakistan's National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency says a month-long investigation traced an alleged network that traded child sexual abuse videos through Telegram groups, with links in Islamabad, Multan and Skardu.
Pakistan’s National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) says it has traced an alleged network that traded child sexual abuse videos through groups on the Telegram messaging app, exchanging them for cryptocurrency.
NCCIA Islamabad zone Additional Director Muhammad Shoaib Khan told a press conference in Islamabad on Sunday that investigators had spent about a month tracing the network, which allegedly used Telegram groups to trade the videos in exchange for cryptocurrency, according to Associated Press of Pakistan reporting carried by UrduPoint.
The investigation began, Khan said, with a case in which a father allegedly filmed his own young children. Geo News reported that Khan said the children involved were aged between five and six years and that the videos were produced and sold through Telegram.
Investigators identified links in several cities, including Islamabad and Multan, while the alleged network leader had links to Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan, UrduPoint reported. Khan said further investigation was under way to establish the network’s full extent and identify other suspects.
Investigators also found evidence of alleged animal abuse in connection with the production of videos, both Geo News and UrduPoint reported. Khan said the identities of those involved were not disclosed, citing the ongoing investigation and the need to protect identities, and described the case as unlike anything previously seen in Pakistan’s history.
Khan also said the agency had arrested a suspect in a separate online harassment and blackmail case in Karachi within 24 to 25 hours of coordination between its Islamabad and Karachi teams, and that its 1799 helpline was operational nationwide for reporting cybercrime.
Sources:
More on this topic: all World stories
