The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) says around 350 call centres in Karachi are involved in scamming, as it announced the arrest of 273 people in a single raid on Shahrah-e-Faisal, where a court has since freed women and minors on bail. The nine key suspects have been handed to the agency for two days, and the remaining male suspects have been sent to jail, in a case that began with families blocking one of Karachi’s main roads.

The raid targeted a call centre in the PECHS area along Shahrah-e-Faisal, near Kavish Crown Plaza. The Express Tribune reported that eyewitnesses saw the operation begin at around 8pm to 9pm on November 3, while other outlets put the raid on November 4. The agency has not disputed either account in the coverage reviewed, and no one connected to the company has publicly responded to the allegations.

NCCIA Additional Director Shahzad Akbar told a press conference on Thursday that the 273 arrested included more than 100 women and 42 minors. He said the company was one of the top three call centres involved in scamming operations in Karachi, and that Shahrah-e-Faisal was a major hub for such operations. The agency seized 339 laptops, 152 mobile phones and four computers, with Akbar saying each laptop contained different fake online identities. He described the operation as a debt validation service that allegedly targeted foreign nationals, and ARY News reported that the victims were US citizens. Investigators believe the stolen information, including credit card details, was used to carry out unauthorised transactions through merchant accounts, according to ProPakistani. The case has been registered under multiple sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, relating to electronic fraud, identity theft, unauthorised access to data and spoofing.

Akbar also said the same call centre had been raided before but resumed similar activities afterwards. According to ARY, a case was registered against its owners and management at that time, but the employees were released, and the agency said some employees released during earlier operations had gone on to join other fraudulent call centres. That detail points to a structural challenge: shutting down one premises does not stop the people or methods from moving elsewhere.

In court, the figures became a point of contention. The suspects were produced before Judicial Magistrate East Gulraiz Memon through a video link, and the investigating officer submitted a Home Department notification declaring the call centre a sub-jail, in which all 273 were being held. He alleged that they were involved in defrauding foreign nationals and sought a two-day physical remand for nine key suspects, identified by ProPakistani as including the alleged owners, with the remaining accused to be sent to jail on judicial remand. The defence counsel told the court that the detainees included more than 70 minors and over 80 women. That is substantially higher than the agency’s own count of 42 minors, and the gap has not been explained.

The court granted the two-day physical remand of the nine suspects to the NCCIA. It ordered the release on bail of women and of anyone below the age of 18 against surety bonds, with the release of minors subject to age verification, and sent the remaining suspects to prison on judicial remand. ProPakistani reported that 98 women and juvenile suspects were granted bail.

The ruling addresses some of the concerns raised by families. On Tuesday and Wednesday, relatives of those detained, including many women, blocked Shahrah-e-Faisal near the Baloch Colony bridge, disrupting traffic along the road. The Nation reported that the demonstrators protested the arrest of around 100 women from the call centre, claiming that their children worked there and had no involvement in illegal activities, and demanded their release. Families had said minors were among those inside and that they were unable to meet them or find out whether they had been given food. The court’s order for the release of women and minors responds directly to those complaints, although the age verification process will determine how quickly some of the youngest workers can go home.

The case raises questions that go beyond this one premises. The first is accuracy: with the agency counting 42 minors and the defence counting more than 70, a transparent verification of ages is essential, both for the legal handling of the children and for public confidence in the figures. The second is proportionality. The agency says the suspects were involved in defrauding foreigners, but in a workplace with hundreds of employees it is not yet clear how many worked as agents who knowingly deceived victims, how many were in support roles and how many had no idea of the nature of the work. The release of women and minors on bail suggests that the court sees a distinction between owners and managers and the wider workforce, and the next stage will test whether the evidence supports that distinction for the men who remain in jail.

Also Read: NCCIA Arrests 70+ in Karachi Call Centre Raids Over Alleged US Credit Card Fraud

The third is the sub-jail arrangement itself. A Home Department notification made the premises a place of detention for 273 people, which allowed the agency to keep large numbers of suspects in the building where they were arrested. The arrangement is legal if properly notified, according to what was presented to the court, but it raises practical questions about conditions, access to lawyers and the ability of families to reach those held. The court’s decision to send most male suspects to jail on judicial remand will move many of them out of that arrangement.

There is also the matter of the wider crackdown. Karachi has seen a series of NCCIA raids this autumn, including at Business Avenue, at Zafar Centre and at two PECHS call centres in late September where 79 people were nominated, and this raid is the largest so far. If the agency’s estimate of 350 scam call centres in the city is accurate, the raids so far address only a small fraction of the problem, and the cycle of employees moving from one centre to another suggests that arrests alone will not end it. The agency has not published evidence for the 350 figure, and it should be treated as an official estimate.

What happens in the next two days will matter. The nine key suspects will be questioned, the 339 laptops will be examined, and prosecutors will need to show how the alleged scheme operated and who benefited. For the families who protested, the immediate relief is that women and minors are being released. For investigators, the test is whether the evidence can support serious charges against the owners and managers, and whether the case leads to a lasting change or becomes another raid followed by a reopening.

Compiled by the Weekly PK City Desk.