Children from poor families subjected to sexual abuse, says minister.
Chaudhry says 50 children were affected by this gang.
So far 178 FIRs have been registered regarding child exploitation.
ISLAMABAD: A gang in Pakistan, led by a German national, that was involved in child pornography and selling videos of children on the dark web has been traced, while two people have been arrested and 10 children have been rescued, The News reported on Wednesday.
Minister of the State for Interior Talal Chaudhry revealed this while holding a press conference in Islamabad along with the Director General of the National Crimes and Investigation Agency (NCIA).
He said that the gand was sexually exploiting children in Muzaffarabad.
Chaudhary revealed that a small club was set up in Muzaffarabad, where a facility was set up to teach children between the ages of 6 and 10 different sports, and the latest cameras were also installed here.
He said that here children from poor families were first subjected to sexual abuse by paying money and then blackmailing them and their videos were sold on the dark web for thousands of dollars on a daily basis, and this nefarious activity was being operated live by this gang all over the world and a German was doing all the work of selling this whole matter and the live videos.
Chaudhry further said that the government is taking necessary legal measures to reach this person, 50 children were affected by this gang, out of the children who were rescued from there, 6 children were handed over to the Child Protection Bureau.
He said that it is unfortunate that the families of some children were also found involved in this heinous business, action has been initiated against them too, whether they are the actual parents of these children or other relatives.
Chaudhry further said that the international organisation ‘National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children’ reports sexual exploitation of children and our national crimes and investigation agency takes immediate action on it.
He said that so far 178 FIRs have been registered regarding child exploitation and other matters, 197 people have been arrested and 14 people have been sentenced.
The minister said that a five-hour long operation was conducted on May 23, in which 2 arrests were made and 10 children were recovered, out of which 6 children were sent to child protection.
On this occasion, Director General NCIA Waqaruddin Syed said that the Special Branch informed us that a foreigner comes and goes to Deen Panah village in Muzaffarabad, whose activities are very suspicious.
He further said that the agency took action there in collaboration with the Special Branch, and conducted an operation there on the night of May 22 and 23, as a result of which 2 people were arrested from there and children were also recovered.
He said that the children were made to do various physical activities at a school and a German citizen used to come here and give regular training, the videos were sent to a German citizen who would sell them on the dark web.