A large-scale cybercrime operation has uncovered a fake call centre in Faisalabad that was running a major Ponzi scheme and investment fraud.

The National Cyber Crime and Investigation Agency (NCCIA) raided a property on Sangla Hill–Shahkot Road in cooperation with a sensitive intelligence agency.

The site is a residence of Malik Tahseen Awan, the former Chairman of the Board of Directors at Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO), which had been converted into a fraudulent call centre.

Authorities revealed that employees were scamming the public and siphoning money under the pretense pretence of investment opportunities.

During the raid, 149 individuals were arrested, marking the largest single crackdown on online fraud suspects in Pakistan’s history.

The detainees include 18 women and 131 men, among them 73 foreign nationals. The foreigners arrested include three Nigerian men and five Nigerian women, one Filipino man and three Filipino women, one Sri Lankan, one Bangladeshi woman, six Bangladeshi men, one Zimbabwean woman, two Myanmar women, and 44 others from various countries.

76 Pakistani men and two Pakistani women were also taken into custody.

Seven FIRs (numbered 141 through 147) have been registered against the suspects on charges of fraud, forgery, and illegal investment operations. Interrogations are currently underway.

Sources claim that Malik Tahseen Awan is the prime suspect in the scheme and is named in all seven FIRs.

Authorities have launched multiple raids to arrest him, and his name has been added to the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL) to prevent him from fleeing the country.