AWALPINDI: A child pornography racket has been arrested from Gujar Khan,according to Federal Investigation Agency cyber crime wing Deputy DirectorSyed Shahid Hassan.

While addressing a news conference on Tuesday, Hassan remarked that thesuspect was part of a four-member gang involved in luring children and thenshooting their objectionable videos. Later, they would extort money fromthe children’s parents after threatening to release the videos on socialmedia.

“Interpol had contacted Pakistan regarding the group,” he said, adding thatthe group has sexually assaulted 18 children.

The FIA official also shared that one member of the gang is in Hong Kong,another in Dubai, while the third gang member’s location remainsuntraceable.link>

Hassan assured that the absconding suspects will be arrested soon.

In 2016, Pakistan criminalised child pornography in a historic first,making the offense punishable with seven years in prison and a fine ofRs0.7 million. The new amendment, titled Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill2015, also criminalised child trafficking within the country.

The initiative came after the country was rocked by a major pedophiliascandal in August 2015, when it was revealed that hundreds of pornographicvideos of children from Hussain Khanwala village in the Punjab province hadbeen made and were being circulated.