A local court in Lahore on Tuesday handed over six officers of the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on a three-day physical remand in a corruption and misuse of authority case.

Judicial Magistrate Naeem Wattoo announced the decision after hearing arguments from both sides.

Defence counsel Mian Ali Ashfaq Advocate argued that his clients were arrested illegally on bribery charges without prior approval from the FIA Director General, as required by law.

He urged the court to reject the agency’s plea for physical remand.

The FIA’s prosecutor, however, maintained that the remand was necessary to complete the investigation and confront the accused with other suspects involved in the case.

When the court inquired about the progress of the probe and the grounds for arrest, the FIA’s representative replied that the investigation was ongoing and more time was needed to uncover the full facts.

After reserving its decision following detailed arguments, the court later granted a three-day physical remand of the accused to the FIA.

Those arrested include Additional Director Sarfraz Chaudhry, Deputy Director Zawar Ahmed, Deputy Directors Muhammad Usman and Ayaz Khan from FIA Headquarters Islamabad, Assistant Directors Shoaib Riaz and Mujtaba Zafar from FIA Lahore, and Sub-Inspectors Yasir Ramzan and Ali Raza.