LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) has arrested the prime suspect of a massive scam involving online sale of millions of counterfeit US postage stamps, in Lahore.

Over a period of more than three years, Faheem Akram allegedly operated a website to market and sell over five million fake postage stamps, according to the agency.

The findings were shared with the media by NCCIA`s Lahore Zone Additional Director Atif Ameer at a press conference on Tuesday. He said that the suspect operated a website LabelsBank.com from August 2023 to September 2026, using it to market and sell fake US postage stamps online.

`More than five million stamps were sold through the website at a price of around $2 per stamp. Based on the alleged volume of sales, the total valueof the transactions has been estimated at approximately Rs35 billion,` he said, adding that the agency also focused on the financial channels used to receive and move proceeds from the business.

On Sept 28, the US Department of Justice announced that Akram had been indicted by a federal grand jury for operating an unauthorised website that allegedly sold more than 5 million counterfeit US postage labels, causing more than $126 million in losses to the US Postal Service.

Money trail Flanked by Deputy Director Waqas Saeed, Mr Ameer said that so far 16 bank accounts used in this scam had been detected. Seven of the accounts were operated by the suspect, five by his brother, two by his wife, and one each by his sister and aunt.

The NCCIA officer said it had expanded the investigation across several parts of the country.

`Eight special teams have been formed in Punjab, Islamabad and Sindh to trace the suspect and investigate the network,` he said and added the teams conducted raids at 35 locations and questioned 47 people as part of the probe.

`Investigators also employed digital and forensic techniques to establish the suspect`s movements and identify peopleassociated with the operation.

Mr Ameer said that investigators analysed 122 call-data records, 50 IMEItracking reports and audio and video recordings from 120 cameras. `AI and other modern technological tools were also used during the investigation. A locator operation continued for 10 days as investigators attempted to establish the suspect`s whereabouts and trace his activities,` he said.

The NCCIA official said the major focus of the investigation was the financial trail generated by the online sale of the counterfeit stamps.

`We are examining transactions conducted through the 16 bank accounts and attempting to determine the flow of funds between the accounts allegedly belonging to the suspect and his relatives. The involvement of family members is also being examined as part of the investigation, particularly the alleged use oftheirbank accountsin connection with the online business,` the additional director said.

He said the role of other individuals in operating the website, processing orders, receiving payments or distributing the counterfeit stamps was also being probed. `Investigators are also working to establish the full scale of the operation and verify the volume and value of the transactions,` he said.