The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency has one investigating officer each in Karachi, Lahore and Multan, with 400 to 500 pending inquiries and separate investigation of cases.
The ranks of investigation officers at NCCIA
The number of investigating officers in Karachi is 16, the number of pending inquiries is 5,596, and 80 cases are being heard and officers are being produced, sources said.
The number of investigating officers in Hyderabad is 4, the number of pending inquiries is 729 and 29 cases are ongoing. The number of investigating officers in Sukkur is 6.
Report * Sameer Qureshi
The administration of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency has succeeded in acquiring immense powers, however, a crisis of investigation officers has arisen in the agency. 10 investigation officers have been established in the NCCIA, including anti-money laundering investigations, and one more is going to be established, but there is still a severe shortage of investigation officers and there is also an extreme shortage of funds. On both these issues, a very senior officer of the agency revealed that at the time of formation of the agency, verbal assurances of a multi-budgeted budget (first two billion and later four billion rupees) were given, but the ground realities are that so far the agency has been approved for one billion 255 million rupees, of which 294 million rupees have been paid, that is, only 25 percent, and that amount was mostly spent on paying salaries. Around 128 new recruitments will start in four to five months, out of which 100 will be investigation officers. Another 15 investigation officers will be given to Karachi. A notification was issued yesterday that two selected investigation officers of all the SRAs will be given training in anti-money laundering investigations at the headquarters. The question still remains that the number of investigation officers is the same. In big cities like Karachi, Lahore and Multan, each investigation officer has 400 to 500 inquiries pending, and the investigation of the cases is separate. The institution will now start receiving STR i.e., Sustainment Transaction Reports of the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) and after that, the burden will start to fall on more investigation officers. In Karachi, the number of investigation officers is 16, the number of pending inquiries is 5596 and 80 cases are being heard and the officers’ appearances are ongoing. In Hyderabad, the number of investigation officers is 4, the number of pending inquiries is 729 and 29 cases are ongoing. In Sukkur, the number of investigation officers is six, the number of pending inquiries is 500 and the number of ongoing cases is 60.
NCCIA CYBER CRIME INVESTIGATE
NATIONAL
AGENCY