The criminal gangs in Lahore have adopted new methods of crime through social media and this wave of cybercrime is spreading throughout the provincial capital, as per Lahore police. The officials are concerned that previously the groups used to communicate via conventional means but now they have begun an organized campaign through Facebook pages and groups. The groups are conducting various illegal activities which include buying and collecting of arms, ammunition and more.
SSP Operations Ismail Kharak has written a letter to PTA expressing his concern regarding this group which is branding killed criminals as fallen heroes and requested that these web pages and sites be taken down immediately to avoid disinformation to the public and the propaganda to spread any further. There is no doubt that the future of criminal warfare is around cyberspace and measures taken as early as possible are the only way to ensure confidentiality and integrity of our information online.
According to the SSP, various criminals are using social media to portray themselves as heroes of the public. In a statement to Express Tribune, he said: “The local police have observed that there are hooligans in the city who are projecting themselves as heroes and strugglers using social media websites.” He gave the example of a page called “Lahore Underworld” in which criminal leaders were being portrayed as heroes and hostility was being displayed towards law-abiding citizens.
The police have made an arrest to curb this wave but an organized cybercrime team will have to be established at district levels rather than national levels to fight this menace. Youngsters were arrested because they posted pictures holding guns on Facebook, which spreads an aggressive atmosphere online.
