- Authorities detained 258 foreigners in an Islamabad scam call center raid, including 40 Chinese and 170 Vietnamese.
- Most arrived on tourist visas and were allegedly running the scam; they are held at a Rawalpindi jail during the ongoing investigation.
- Embassies were informed and authorities say details and possible deportations will be announced as the probe continues.
- A similar July 2025 raid arrested 149 people, including 71 mostly Chinese suspects in an alleged Ponzi and investment fraud call center.
Pakistan authorities said Monday they detained 258 foreigners, including 40 Chinese nationals, following a raid on an alleged “scam call centre” in the capital Islamabad.
“They were running a scam call centre in Gulberg Green, a housing society on the outskirts of Islamabad,” an official from the Federal Investigation Agency, a Pakistani intelligence service, told AFP.
“They came to Pakistan on tourist visas and were not allowed to do what they were doing.”
Those detained — including 170 people from Vietnam, as well as nationals from Malaysia and “other Asian countries” — were being held at a Rawalpindi jail.
The official said the respective embassies were informed and that details of the allegations against the detainees would be released in the coming days as the investigation was ongoing.
Possible outcomes included the deportation of those involved, the official added.
Media reports said the foreigners were detained last week.
AFP has asked the Chinese foreign ministry for comment on the detentions.
A similar raid took place in July 2025, with 149 people — including 71 foreigners who were mostly Chinese — arrested on allegations of working for a “large call centre involving Ponzi schemes and investment fraud”.
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