FIA nabs members of alleged pornography gang for raping boys

KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said Tuesday four members of a criminal "pornography" gang involved in blackmailing, raping, and filming dozens of mostly young and underage people were arrested here in the metropolis. 

The four new arrests come after two other members of the alleged same sex abuse ring were detained over the weekend during raids and operations in various neighbourhoods of Karachi, including Gulistan-e-Johar and a housing society at Drigh Road.

All six were part of the racket allegedly involved in raping, sodomising, and filming young boys, creating and circulating pornographic videos, and blackmailing the victims through clips of sexual assault, reports indicated.

The four men arrested earlier today were rounded up by the FIA's Cyber Crimes Cell, according to Faizullah Korejo, the additional director at the agency's cyber crime cell in Karachi.

Korejo told Geo News that the suspects had also developed their own mobile application and websites specifically aimed at tracking down queer people, including gay, lesbian, and transgender individuals.

Underage boys and individuals who visited these websites or used the app created by the porn ring were given links to groups on WhatsApp and other social media for fake employment opportunities at call centres.

However, the FIA said that when unsuspecting victims joined these groups, they clicked on ads that appeared on the websites which generated invitations for fake job interviews and offers at certain places, where they would eventually be subjected to sexual abuse at gunpoint and the traumatic incidents filmed.

The FIA official explained that these videos were later uploaded to the international pornographic websites.

The videos were not only used for international porn websites but also to blackmail those who were subjected to rape and sodomy at the hands of these suspects.

The FIA said several of these videos were found on the arrested men's mobile phones and laptops.

The racket and its other possible links are currently under investigation, with authorities probing the likelihood of a related prostitution ring and further revelations expected, it added.

Earlier, on Sunday, the FIA had not only tracked down and unmasked the porn ring but also arrested two other members, according to Korejo, the suspects were involved in creating and disseminating indecent content, including images and videos.

The arrested suspects have confessed to sexually abusing multiple boys and young men. Moreover, evidence of sexual abuse and blackmailing attempts, as well as dozens of videos of countless victims of sexual abuse, was also recovered.

Many of the young men chose not to file complaints over fears of being stigmatised, slandered, and character assassination. However, authorities were alerted to the presence of the sex abuse ring only when one victim reached out to the FIA.