INTERPOL operation exposes global reach of West African crime networks, arrests 58

An international police operation targeting West African organised crime networks has led to the arrest of 58 suspects and the identification of 263 others across 22 countries, highlighting the growing global reach of criminal groups linked to the region.

The eight-month operation, coordinated by the International Criminal Police Organisation, INTERPOL, also uncovered millions of dollars in suspected illicit proceeds and revealed the increasingly sophisticated methods used by criminal networks to move money and conduct fraud across borders.

Known as Operation Jackal IV, the exercise ran from November 2025 to June 2026 and involved police and other law enforcement agencies across six continents.

INTERPOL announced the results on Tuesday, saying the operation focused on dismantling criminal networks, tracing their financial activities, identifying key members, recovering criminal proceeds and strengthening cases for prosecution.

The agency said the operation targeted networks including Black Axe and other West African groups allegedly involved in cyber-enabled fraud, money laundering and violent crimes.

INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre Director, Tomonobu Kaya, said the operation showed that international cooperation was becoming increasingly important as organised crime networks expanded beyond national borders.

“By following illicit financial flows across borders, we are attacking the very lifeblood of organised crime and making it increasingly difficult for criminal networks to profit from their activities,” Kaya said.

One of the major breakthroughs came in Argentina, where investigators identified 196 people allegedly connected to a Crime-as-a-Service network accused of providing website domains and money-laundering services to West African criminal groups. Seventeen suspects were arrested.

In South Africa, authorities raided seven locations in Johannesburg over an alleged syndicate involved in romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries.

The operation resulted in 39 arrests, while authorities seized $2.67m and froze 257 bank accounts, according to INTERPOL.

Investigators in Italy also traced an alleged money-laundering network operating across Europe through shell companies, remittance businesses and cash withdrawals. One bank account linked to the network reportedly handled €845,000 through 560 transactions involving 20 financial instruments.

In Romania, authorities dismantled an alleged investment fraud network operating through a call centre and arrested 11 suspects. Investigators recovered about €330,000 in cash and cryptocurrency, six properties and luxury watches.

INTERPOL said the Romanian investigation indicated that the alleged scheme had generated and laundered about €143m globally.

The operation also exposed a disturbing rise in sextortion cases involving minors, with INTERPOL reporting that some victims were as young as 14.

According to the agency, some offenders allegedly used social media to establish relationships with minors before persuading them to send sexually explicit material and subsequently threatening to distribute the material to relatives and friends unless money was paid.

INTERPOL said criminal groups were also increasingly turning to Crime-as-a-Service providers, including dark-web operators, to outsource specialised functions such as money laundering.

Nigeria was among the 22 countries that participated in the operation, alongside countries including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The international police organisation said the outcome demonstrated that West African organised crime was no longer confined to the region, with criminal networks increasingly relying on international infrastructure, financial systems and technology to operate.

It said continued cooperation among law enforcement agencies would therefore be necessary to disrupt the networks, seize their illicit proceeds and dismantle the financial structures sustaining their activities.