FBI most wanted cybercriminal Noor Aziz Uddin captured in Pakistan raid

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) most wanted cybercriminal has been captured in Pakistan following a two-and-a-half year manhunt, according to Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Noor Aziz Uddin, 52, was wanted for his alleged involvement in an international telecommunications scheme that defrauded victims of amounts in excess of $50m (£32.5m).

Aziz Uddin's presumed accomplice, Farhan Arshad, 41, was also arrested in the pre-dawn raid carried out by the FIA in Karachi.

"They were on the most wanted list of the FBI and we have successfully arrested them," Mir Mazhar Jabbar, a senior FIA official who led the raid, told Agence France-Presse.

The FBI had offered separate rewards of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest of both Aziz Udin and Arshad, having issued arrest warrants for the men on 29 June, 2012.

"(The telecommunications scheme) defrauded unsuspecting individuals, companies, and government entities, to include large telecom companies, in both the United States and abroad," the FBI's Most Wanted files on the pair stated.

"Between November of 2008 and April of 2012, Noor Aziz Uddin is alleged to have compromised computer systems and conducted the scheme which ultimately defrauded victims of amounts in excess of $50m."

The international operation extended into Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Spain, Singapore, Italy, and Malaysia, according to the FBI.

Aziz Uddin was previously arrested by Interpol in Malaysia but was later released due to a lack of evidence.