KARACHI: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency has stopped a 13-year-old girl from carrying out a self-harm task assigned by a dark web group, after a foreign crime investigation agency passed on a tip. The NCCIA dark web Karachi case has widened into one of the agency’s biggest ongoing probes, with dozens of suspects linked across Pakistan and abroad.
NCCIA Karachi Additional Director Tariq Nawaz told Dawn on Friday that the agency moved after receiving a lead along with an email address and the relevant internet protocol address from the foreign agency, which he did not name. Investigators traced the IP address to a home in Karachi and found that the person using it was a child being targeted, not an operator of the network.
How the NCCIA dark web Karachi probe began
According to officials, the girl had first been exposed to the group through social media. She then engaged with the group on a messaging application, where she was assigned a series of tasks. Nawaz said the tasks included harming her pet. The NCCIA traced the girl before she could complete the next task, which was to cause serious harm to herself. Her devices were analysed and taken into custody.
The rescue followed an alert from international law enforcement that flagged suspicious IP addresses across 13 countries, including Pakistan. The NCCIA’s cyber forensics units traced the connection to the Karachi residence and intervened before the next instruction could be carried out.
Her parents told investigators they had noticed a change in her behaviour over the previous three or four months. She remained upset but said nothing. The agency arranged psychological counselling to help her recover from the trauma.
A wider network under investigation
The Karachi rescue is part of a much wider case. NCCIA Deputy Director Shehzad Akbar said investigators were examining a suspected network with alleged links to individuals in Germany and the United Kingdom. According to officials, the wider case involves 42 suspects, including 12 juveniles. Earlier, the agency had arrested four suspects in Islamabad in the same suspected dark web network probe.
Investigators say children were allegedly paid around $100, described as roughly Rs6,000, to produce pornographic animated content. The agency seized 19 mobile phones from Pixel Craft, five from Art Office, and 17 from Art Design, which reportedly employed 17 people. Akbar said a man identified as Fudan was allegedly operating the network. Officials are also examining whether so-called “red rooms” on the dark web were used to assign tasks to minors.
NCCIA stretched thin despite the wins
This is the second major NCCIA breakthrough in two days, yet the agency is working with thin resources. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said this week that the NCCIA has only 61 officers in Punjab, with some officers handling up to 4,000 cases each, and dedicated cyber police stations are now being planned.
The agency has been active on other fronts as well. In the past 15 days it recovered 39 social media accounts on WhatsApp and Instagram, blocked 95 accounts linked to financial fraud, and acted against 38 accounts suspected of harassing women through fake identities. It also arrested a Faisalabad man accused of running a Saudi visa scam on TikTok and indicted a Khanewal man in a US postal fraud case.
What parents can watch for
Officials say parents should take note of sudden behaviour changes in children, long hours spent on messaging apps, and reluctance to discuss online friendships. The girl’s family had noticed the changes but had not connected them to her internet use. The NCCIA said no arrests had been announced yet in the Karachi case, and the investigation was continuing to identify handlers and other children who may have been targeted.
Frequently asked questions
How did the NCCIA find the girl?
A foreign agency shared a lead, an email address and suspicious IP addresses with the NCCIA. Investigators traced the Pakistan-based IP address to a Karachi home and found the user was a 13-year-old girl being targeted by a dark web group.
What tasks was the girl asked to carry out?
Officials say she was assigned a series of tasks through a messaging application. These included harming her pet, and the next instruction was to cause serious self-harm. The NCCIA reached her before that task could be carried out.
