Interpol’s Crackdown on West African Crime Syndicates Results in 300 Arrests Across Five Continents

A global law enforcement sting targeting West African crime syndicates has led to the dismantling of multiple criminal networks across several continents, asset seizures worth millions of dollars, and hundreds of arrests, according to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

Dubbed “Operation Jackal III,” the sting spanned 21 countries across five continents and targeted online financial fraud and the West African criminal groups responsible for it, Interpol said.

Some 300 suspects were arrested in the operation, which also allowed law enforcement to identify another 400-plus additional suspects and block more than 720 bank accounts associated with financial criminal activity.

“The volume of financial fraud stemming from West Africa is alarming and increasing,” Isaac Oginni, a director at Interpol’s financial crime division, said in a statement.

Mr. Oginni said that cooperation between police in different countries made it possible to take down extensive criminal networks across the globe.

One of the targeted groups was Black Axe, one of the most prominent West African organized crime groups, whose activities allegedly include cyber fraud, human trafficking, drug smuggling, and violent crimes, in Africa and beyond.

Related Stories

“By identifying suspects, recovering illicit funds and putting some of West Africa’s most dangerous organized crime leaders behind bars, we are able to weaken their influence and reduce their capacity to harm communities around the world,” Mr. Oginni said.

In Argentina, the sting led to the dismantling of a Nigerian-led criminal network that used money mules to open bank accounts around the world and was investigated in over 40 countries for money laundering activities.

“Operation Jackal is a crucial step forward in combating West African online financial fraud and clearly demonstrates that cybercriminals cannot escape the watchful eye of INTERPOL’s 196 member countries—especially in Argentina,” Diego Verdun, head of Argentina’s National Central Bureau, said in a statement.

Following a five-year Interpol investigation into the Nigerian-led crime group, police were able to arrest 72 suspects from Argentina, Colombia, Nigeria, and Venezuela, among others.

The sting also led to the seizure of around 100 bank accounts and $1.2 million in high-quality counterfeit banknotes known as “supernotes.”

The Nigerian-led crime group’s activities led over 160 fraud victims to suffer significant financial harm, including some people losing their homes, Interpol said.

“By following illegal money trails worldwide, INTERPOL and the global police community ensure that no matter where these criminals try to hide, they will be relentlessly pursued and brought to justice,” Mr. Verdun said.

Operation Jackal III also targeted West African organized crime groups operating in Switzerland, where police seized cocaine, tens of thousands of dollars in cash, and arrested multiple suspects.

Interpol assisted in the Swiss operation by providing real-time access to its databases, which helped local law enforcement identify the crime group’s members and activities.

Nigerian Crime Syndicate Dismantled in Portugal

In Portugal, where Interpol facilitated intelligence exchange and suspect apprehension, police dismantled a Nigerian crime syndicate that laundered money from online financial fraud victims in multiple European countries, according to the agency.

Large transfers to Nigerian bank accounts, as well as cryptocurrency transactions and sophisticated money laundering operations, were identified thanks to data seized from computers and phones.

The global Interpol-coordinated sting also mobilized asset recovery offices and private sector partners in multiple countries, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Interpol has 196 member countries and works to help national law enforcement share intelligence and track suspects across a wide array of criminal endeavors, including cybercrime, child sex abuse, and terrorism.

“Providing police with the tools they need to fight crime together is essential,” he said.

The national central bureaus connect national law enforcement with other countries and with the Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France, via a secure global police communications network.

“Terrorism remains global, mobile, while organized crime continues to expand across continents and across markets,” Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock said at the April conference.

“Each piece of information, shared or withheld, can mean the difference between an arrest and a tragedy of global proportions,” he said.

Delegates at the conference endorsed several initiatives to enhance the law enforcement response to multinational crime networks. These initiatives include expanding access to Interpol’s secure global police communications network for specialized police units and increasing the use of Interpol’s policing capabilities, such as a stop-payment mechanism to intercept illicit gains from cyber fraud.

Since the stop-payment mechanism—called the Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (I-GRIP)—was launched in 2022, it has helped Interpol member countries intercept more than $500 million in criminal proceeds, the agency said.