NCCIA Arrests 37 at Johar Town Call Centre in Lahore, Seizes 80 Devices

Short answer: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) arrested 37 people at an illegal call centre in Johar Town, Lahore, on 10 October 2026 and seized 80 digital devices. It registered FIR No. 241/2026 under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 and the Pakistan Penal Code. The reported targets were people in the United States and Canada.

A raid like this usually looks far from your own phone. It is not. The same call centre tricks, a fake phone seller, a request for card details, a bank "verification" call, reach Pakistani numbers every day. This case shows what the agency says it found, and what you should do if you ever get such a call.

We tried to open the NCCIA website on 12 October 2026. It refused our request, so we have not read a written NCCIA statement. Every figure below is reported from the agency's spokesperson as quoted in the press on 11 October 2026. We name no suspect, because the case is at the investigation stage and nobody has been convicted.

NCCIA arrested 37 people in a Johar Town raid on 10 October

The agency says its Lahore team raided a building in Block F, Johar Town Phase 1, and arrested 37 suspects. It seized five CPUs, 40 laptops and 35 mobile phones. The devices go for forensic examination, which means experts copy and read their data.

The agency says it acted on open-source intelligence, meaning information gathered from public sources, and with court authorisation and approval from its supervisors. The alleged owner was not at the building when the team arrived, according to the report. The agency has not said whether he has since been found.

The agency says the callers posed as US and Canadian phone companies

According to the NCCIA, the suspects called people in the United States and Canada while pretending to be mobile service providers. They offered phones for sale, then took credit and debit card details and used them for payments the card holder did not approve.

That is a card fraud pattern. The caller sounds like a normal seller. The sale is the cover. The real aim is the card number, the expiry date and the three-digit code on the back, which together let someone pay online.

The reported victims were abroad, not in Pakistan. The agency has not said how many people lost money or how much. Those figures will matter later, and they are not yet public.

The case carries both the cyber law and the penal code

FIR No. 241/2026 was registered on 10 October 2026 under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016, known as PECA, and the Pakistan Penal Code. An FIR is the First Information Report, the record that starts a criminal case with the police.

The report names a Sub-Inspector as investigating officer. The agency says it is still working out each suspect's role and the full extent of the alleged fraud. Arrest is not guilt. A court decides that after a trial.

If you want the legal side of how a cyber complaint moves, our guide on reporting a cybercrime to the NCCIA sets out the steps.

This is the latest of several NCCIA call centre raids since late September

The NCCIA has reported raids in Lahore and Rawalpindi since 28 September 2026. We covered the Rawalpindi call centre raid, the loan app blackmail raid with 39 arrests and the seven call centre raids with 281 arrests.

We cannot say whether the Johar Town people are linked to any earlier case. The reports do not say so. Treat each raid as a separate case until the agency states a link.

What to do if a caller asks for your card details

Hang up. A real bank or phone company will not ask you to read out a card number, PIN, expiry date or one-time password (OTP) on a call. Call the number printed on the back of your card, or open the bank's own app, and ask whether the call was real.

1. Do not read out the card number, the three-digit code or any OTP, even to someone who sounds polite.
2. End the call, and note the number and the time.
3. Call your bank on the number printed on your card, and ask it to block the card if you shared anything.
4. Change your banking app password and any wallet PIN you use.
5. File a complaint with the NCCIA online, and keep your screenshots and call log.

Our guide on checking a fake bank or NCCIA call with a spoofed number explains why the number on your screen proves nothing. If money has already left your account, see how to claim a digital fraud refund from your bank or wallet.

What is still not known

We could not confirm four things. The NCCIA has not published a written statement we could read. It has not said how many victims there were or how much they lost. It has not named the people charged. And it has not said when the suspects appear before a court.

We will not guess. If the agency publishes a statement, the figures above may change.

Common questions

How many people did the NCCIA arrest in Johar Town?

The agency reports 37 arrests. They were made on 10 October 2026 at a call centre in Johar Town Phase 1, Lahore, and 80 digital devices were seized.

Were Pakistanis the victims in this case?

The reported victims were people in the United States and Canada. The agency has not said that any Pakistani lost money in this case.

Which law was used?

The FIR is registered under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 and the Pakistan Penal Code. The FIR number is 241/2026.

Are the 37 people guilty?

No. An arrest starts an investigation. Only a court can find someone guilty after a trial.

Where do I report a call centre scam in Pakistan?

File an online complaint with the NCCIA, and tell your bank or wallet provider at once if money or card data was involved. Keep the number, the time and any screenshots.

Can I read the NCCIA statement myself?

We could not. The NCCIA website refused our request on 12 October 2026. Check the agency's own page for a written statement.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

We tried the NCCIA website at nccia.gov.pk on 12 October 2026 and could not open it. The raid details come from the agency spokesperson's statement as reported on 11 October 2026. The reported facts are the date, place, 37 arrests, 80 devices, the FIR number and the legal sections. The number of victims, the amount lost and the court date are not public yet.