ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: The government has removed Director General of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), Waqaruddin Syed, from his position following revelations of widespread misconduct and abuse of authority by several NCCIA officials during an investigation against YouTuber Saadur Rehman, popularly known as Ducky Bhai.
It is important to note that Waqar has not been named in any charges in the government inquiry or FIR. He was removed from his post while other NCCIA officials implicated in corruption have been booked and arrested.
According to official sources, senior police officer Syed Khurram Ali has been appointed as the new director general of NCCIA. Meanwhile, Waqar has been made an officer on special duty (OSD) and directed to report to the Establishment Division until further orders.
An official inquiry report revealed that multiple NCCIA Lahore officials were involved in taking bribes and misusing their authority during the probe against Saadur Rehman. The report -- signed by Assistant Director Syed Zain-ul-Abideen of FIA/ACC Lahore -- detailed how officers extorted millions of rupees from the accused’s family and other individuals under investigation.
According to the findings, Assistant Director Shoaib Riaz allegedly demanded and received Rs6 million from Aroob Jatoi, wife of Saadur Rehman, through intermediaries in exchange for leniency in the case. An additional Rs300,000 were reportedly obtained in the form of three cheques to ensure that the accused was sent to judicial custody rather than physical remand.
Investigators stated that the total amount extorted by NCCIA officials reached approximately Rs19 million, which was distributed among several officers. The inquiry revealed that Rs5 million were held by a friend of Deputy Director Zawar Ahmed, Rs2 million by Assistant Director Shoaib Riaz, Rs1.05 million each by Additional Director Sarfraz Chaudhry and frontman Usman Aziz, and Rs500,000 by Advocate Chaudhry Usman.
The report uncovered that the NCCIA Lahore officials were operating as part of a coordinated network that collected regular payments from illegal call centre operators, online fraudsters and other accused individuals. Half of the illicit proceeds were allegedly retained by local officers, while the remaining share was sent to senior officials at the NCCIA headquarters in Islamabad.
Those identified in the corruption network include Muhammad Sarfraz Chaudhry, Additional Director Zawar Ahmed, Deputy Director (Acting Charge) Muhammad Usman, Deputy Director Operations, NCCIA headquarters Islamabad Ayaz Khan, Deputy Director NCCIA headquarters Islamabad Shoaib Riaz, Assistant Director, NCCIA Lahore Mujtaba Zafar, Assistant Director NCCIA Lahore Yasir Ramzan, Ali Raza and Sub-Inspector NCCIA Lahore Salman Aziz.
The accused have been charged under Sections 47(2), 109, and 161 of the Pakistan Penal Code, along with relevant corruption provisions. A formal complaint (Istighasa) was filed by ASI Muhammad Sohail, and the case has been assigned to Assistant Director Syed Zain-ul-Abideen for further investigation. The officials confirmed that additional inquiries are underway to determine the involvement of other NCCIA officers and private individuals allegedly linked to the bribery network. Syed Khurram Ali, a BS-21 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan (PSP), has been appointed as director general (DG) of the NCCIA, according to a notification issued by the Establishment Division. Prior to this appointment, Khurram was serving as commandant of the Punjab Constabulary.
Meanwhile, a Lahore court remanded six NCCIA officials facing bribery allegations in the FIA custody for three days in the YouTuber Ducky Bhai case.
Six of the accused officers, including Sarfraz, Zawar Ahmad and Shoaib Riaz, were produced in handcuffs before a Lahore magistrate on Tuesday. The FIA sought their physical remand, citing the need for further interrogation into the alleged bribery network.
The court, however, questioned the basis of the arrests. FIA prosecutors argued that the inquiry was still ongoing, while the defence contended that the agency had violated internal service rules by not obtaining prior approval from the NCCIA director general before arresting Grade-18 officers.
Defence counsel Mian Ali Ashfaq also pointed out that the complainant, Aroob Jatoi, had herself admitted to paying bribes, yet no case had been registered against her. He claimed that the FIR against the NCCIA officers was filed “within minutes,” without proper scrutiny.
Earlier in the day, another petition submitted by the officers’ legal team accused the FIA of denying access to the detained officials and refusing to provide a copy of the FIR. The petition described their detention as “unlawful confinement” and a violation of constitutional protections under Articles 9, 10, and 10A, which guarantee personal liberty and the right to a fair trial. It urged the court to order the FIA to produce the detainees immediately and prevent further misuse of authority.
Among those implicated, Additional Director Sarfraz had been transferred to the NCCIA headquarters in Islamabad last month following several internal disputes. He previously led high-profile operations against social media influencers, including Ducky Bhai and Rajab Butt, for promoting unregulated online trading and gambling apps. Sarfraz had also faced criticism for initiating cases against lawyers allegedly interfering in cybercrime investigations and for handling complaints filed by journalists against senior police officials in Lahore. The NCCIA headquarters declined to comment on his arrest, stating only that the matter was “under departmental review.” Officials familiar with the investigation said the current case may be linked to previous inquiries into online financial crimes involving well-known social media personalities. Separately, the Islamabad High Court last week directed police to intensify efforts to locate missing NCCIA Deputy Director Muhammad Usman -- one of the accused, who was reportedly abducted earlier this month. His wife, who had filed a petition for his recovery, has also gone missing, prompting the court to seek an updated report on both cases.
