The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), Pakistan's federal body that investigates cybercrime, said on Tuesday that a prime suspect in a case involving counterfeit US postage stamps had been arrested in Lahore. The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida had identified the suspect as a 33-year-old from Khanewal. In a statement last month, the office said he was accused of running an unauthorised website that allegedly sold more than five million counterfeit US postage labels, causing losses of more than $126 million to the US Postal Service.
How the alleged scheme worked
NCCIA Additional Director Atif Ameer announced the arrest at a press conference in Lahore. He said the labels were sold over about three years through a website called LabelsBank.com, which operated from August 2023 to September 2026. Ameer said the stamps were priced at around $2 each, and that the total value of the transactions had been estimated at approximately Rs35 billion based on the alleged sales volume.
The figures given so far do not explain how the Rs35 billion estimate relates to the $126 million loss cited by US authorities. At five million stamps sold for about $2 each, the sales would come to roughly $10 million, so the gap is not explained. Ameer described these as allegations, and the suspect's guilt has not been established.
The bank accounts and the wider probe
Ameer said 16 bank accounts had been used in the scam. Seven were operated by the suspect, five by his brother, two by his wife, and one each by his sister and aunt. Deputy Director Waqas Saeed stood alongside him at the briefing.
The agency formed eight special teams in Punjab, Islamabad and Sindh to trace the suspect and the network behind the website. Teams conducted raids at 35 locations and questioned 47 people. Investigators also reviewed 122 call-data records, 50 IMEI-tracking reports and recordings from 120 cameras, and said artificial intelligence tools were part of the work. A locator operation ran for 10 days before the arrest.
The NCCIA said the main focus now is the money trail. Investigators are examining transactions through the 16 accounts and trying to determine how funds moved between accounts linked to the suspect and his relatives. They are also probing the roles of other people in running the website, processing orders, receiving payments or distributing the stamps. Ameer said the full scale of the operation and the volume and value of transactions are still being verified.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- August 2023: According to the NCCIA, the LabelsBank.com website began operating and was used to sell counterfeit US postage stamps online.
- Last month: The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement that the suspect was accused of running an unauthorised website behind more than $126 million in losses to the US Postal Service.
- September 2026: The NCCIA says the period of the website's operation ended in this month.
- Tuesday: The NCCIA announced at a press conference in Lahore that the prime suspect had been arrested.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Lahore mein US postal stamps ki jaali farokht ke case mein ek mukhtalif shakhs ko giraftar kiya gaya hai, jaisa ke NCCIA ne Tuesday ko bataya. US authorities ke mutabiq us par 126 million dollar se zyada ka nuqsan pohanchane ka ilzaam hai, aur yeh abhi sirf ilzam hain. Aam Pakistani ke liye is ka seedha asar kam hai, lekin doosron ke bank accounts istemal karne se aap bhi tehqiqat mein phans sakte hain.
