Pakistan: Faisalabad police arrest alleged honey-trap gang leader

Faisalabad [Pakistan], September 18 (ANI): Police have arrested an alleged leader of a honey-trap gang, identified as Ghulam Batool, outside a local court in Faisalabad, ARY News reported, citing officials.

According to police, Batool, a resident of Dastgir Colony, had earlier filed a rape case at Madina Town police station, accusing a man named Waseem of sexual assault after luring him with a false promise of employment. Investigators said she later reached a settlement with Waseem's family, agreeing to withdraw her allegation in exchange for PKR 500,000.

Batool appeared before Civil Judge Muhammad Asif to record a retraction statement when Inspector Sana Nazir placed her under arrest and registered a fresh case, ARY News reported.

Police said evidence against Batool included video footage in which she is seen demanding PKR 1.5 million from Waseem's family. The same footage reportedly shows her insisting on an advance payment of PKR 500,000, while a relative of Waseem pleads for a reduction in the amount. She eventually agreed to testify in Waseem's favour for PKR 500,000, investigators added.

The arrest comes against the backdrop of a surge in online scams and cybercrimes in Pakistan. The National Cyber Emergency Response Team recently issued an advisory warning of increasing cases of social media honey traps, extortion attempts, and fraudulent freelance job offers.

According to the advisory, scams are spreading via platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram, where unsuspecting users are added to groups without consent and lured with fake job opportunities. Once trapped, victims are subjected to explicit content and later blackmailed with threats of exposure.

Authorities said extortion demands in such cases typically range between PKR 1 million and PKR 1.5 million. Fraudsters are also exploiting WhatsApp display pictures, usernames, and online activity to identify and target victims, often through fake accounts posing as employers. (ANI)

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