LAHORE: The National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency said on Tuesday that a prime suspect in a case involving the sale of counterfeit US postage stamps had been arrested in Lahore.

The US Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Florida had identified the suspect as a 33-year-old from Khanewal. It said in a statement last month that he was accused of operating “an unauthorised website that allegedly sold more than five million counterfeit US postage labels”, causing more than $126 million in losses to the US Postal Service

NCCIA’s Lahore Zone Additional Director Atif Ameer announced his arrest at a press conference, saying that the counterfeit postage labels were sold over a period of three years.

He said the suspect operated a website — LabelsBank.com — from August 2023 to September 2026 and used it to market and sell counterfeit 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 value of 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.

Money trail

Flanked by Lahore NCCIA Deputy Director Waqas Saeed, Ameer said that 16 bank accounts had been used in the scam. 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 the agency had expanded the investigation across several parts of the country.

“Eight special teams had 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 investigation.

“Investigators also employed digital and forensic techniques to establish the suspect’s movements and identify people associated with the operation.”

Ameer said that investigators analysed 122 call-data records, 50 IMEI-tracking reports and audio and video recordings from 120 cameras.

“Artificial intelligence 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 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 of their bank accounts in 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.