ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arresteda suspect exploiting woman through matrimonial ads in daily newspaperswhile impersonating an army brigadier, Pakistan Today has reported.

According to details, the arrest was made on a complaint by a person whohad come from the UAE just to pursue the case of his sister’s exploitationby the impersonator.

In the ads, ‘brigadier’ Basharat claimed that he was looking for potentialbrides with an “attractive and beautiful face”.

“A person registered his complaint with the cyber crime wing that some guywas publishing ads in daily national newspapers like Jang, Nawa-e-Waqt, andDawn etc. in which he seeks a life partner who is educated and goodlooking. Many women and their families contacted the mobile number providedin the ad,” an FIA official told Pakistan Today on the condition ofanonymity.

Once a family or lady contacted him, Basharat would inquire about thepotential bride’s height, weight, body type and then obtained theirpersonal pictures. He would then edit the photographs into objectionableimages and blackmail the victims, extorting huge amounts of money bythreatening to post the images on the internet. The suspect also allegedlysexually assaulted several victims and videotaped them by forcing them tovisit his residence.

The FIA official said that Basharat was arrested from Bahria Town atmidnight on Monday. He was wanted in different cases registered with theFIA cybercrime wing.

He added that it is alarming that most newspapers published matrimonial adswithout verifying the advertiser, adding that a system should be put inplace to prevent such criminals from taking advantage of unsuspectingcitizens.