Mass arrests in global crackdown on West African cyber-crime networks
Interpol has coordinated the arrest of 58 people linked to organised West African cyber-crime networks in a major operation spanning 22 countries across six continents. Named "Operation Jackal IV", the crackdown targeted groups behind romance and investment scams, including the notorious Nigerian Black Axe network, which Interpol says is responsible for a significant share of global cyber-enabled financial fraud. The operation matters because it highlights the growing international coordination needed to tackle these networks, which combine financial crime with money laundering, sextortion of minors as young as 14, and other violent offences.
Running from November 2025 to June 2026, the operation identified a further 263 suspects and probed how the groups laundered money through cryptocurrency and email compromise fraud, often targeting retirees in English-speaking countries. Preliminary results included arrests in Argentina, Italy, Romania and South Africa, where police raided seven sites, made 39 arrests, seized $2.67m (£1.96m) and blocked 257 bank accounts. It follows 2024's Jackal III operation, which saw 300 arrests linked to Black Axe, a network with roots in Nigeria that is also involved in trafficking, prostitution and killings worldwide.
- Interpol operation nets 58 arrests across 22 countries, six continents
- Targeted West African scam networks including Nigeria's Black Axe group
- South African raids seized $2.67m and blocked 257 bank accounts
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Interpol has coordinated a major crackdown, codenamed Operation Jackal IV, targeting organised crime networks based in West Africa that run online scams. These groups typically operate romance scams and fake investment schemes, tricking victims – often older people in English-speaking countries – into handing over money, which is then laundered through bank accounts and cryptocurrency. One of the most prominent networks involved is Black Axe, which originated in Nigeria and has links to trafficking and violent crime as well as fraud.
The operation is being carried out jointly by police forces in 22 countries, reflecting the fact that this kind of crime crosses borders easily, since victims, scammers and the money itself can all be in different parts of the world. It builds on earlier phases of the same Interpol operation, including a 2024 crackdown that also targeted Black Axe.
This matters because online fraud of this kind causes serious financial harm to victims and is linked to other crimes, including the exploitation of children. The scale of the international response shows how seriously authorities now treat cyber-enabled fraud networks, which have grown alongside the wider use of the internet and digital payments.