Interpol, Afripol arrest 1,006 cybercrime suspects in Africa

Over 1,000 cybercrime suspects from Africa have landed in INTERPOL’s net following its recent joint major cybercrime operation with the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), tagged Operation Serengeti.

Nineteen countries in Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique, South Africa, Cameroon and Algeria, participated in the operation between September and October.

The others were Angola, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

According to INTERPOL, Operation Serengeti clamped down on criminals who were behind ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), digital extortion, and online scams. These crimes were all identified as prominent threats in the 2024 Africa Cyber Threat Assessment Report.

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INTERPOL noted that over 35,000 victims were identified during the operation.

Valdecy Urquiza, Secretary General of INTERPOL, asserted that the volume of cybercrime attacks is of utmost concern.

“From multi-level marketing scams to credit card fraud on an industrial scale, the increasing volume and sophistication of cybercrime attacks is of serious concern,” said Urquiza.

“Operation Serengeti shows what we can achieve by working together, and these arrests alone will save countless potential future victims from real personal and financial pain. We know that this is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will continue targeting these criminal groups worldwide.”

In another of its operations, which spanned between April and July, INTERPOL arrested over 300 people who had links to Black Axe, one of West Africa’s most feared criminal networks and its affiliated groups.

INTERPOL identified over 400 additional suspects and facilitated the blocking of more than 720 bank accounts.