The International Criminal Police Organisation, Interpol, has arrested 11 suspected high-level members of various terrorist groups in Nigeria. These individuals were part of a total of 83 arrests made across six African countries during an operation called ‘Operation Catalyst,’ which was conducted in collaboration with AFRIPOL.
The six countries involved in this operation are Angola, Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, and South Sudan. In a statement, Interpol explained that the two-month operation focused on combating terrorist financing and related illicit activities, scrutinising over 15,000 individuals and entities.
As a result of this operation, Interpol uncovered $260 million in both fiat and virtual currencies that may be linked to terrorism-related activities. Additionally, over $600,000 in cash has been seized.
“Of the 83 arrests, 21 were for terrorism-related crimes, 28 were for financial fraud and money laundering, 16 were linked to cyber-enabled scams and a further 18 were related to the illicit use of virtual assets,” the statement reads.
“In one significant case from Angola, 25 individuals of multiple nationalities were detained following investigations into informal value transfer systems that were identified as connected to potential terrorist financing and money laundering.
“The operation included the inspection of 30 commercial establishments, where police seized approximately USD 588,000, 100 mobile phones and 40 computers. Sixty bank accounts were also frozen.
“In Kenya, a suspected money laundering operation using a virtual asset service provider was identified as having potential links to terrorism financing.
“The scheme, worth approximately USD 430,000, involved 12 people, two of whom have so far been arrested. In a separate case in Kenya, two individuals were arrested for the online recruitment of young people from East and North Africa into terrorist groups.
“The funds used for the recruitment and radicalisation were traced through a cryptocurrency trading platform, back to individuals in Tanzania.
“In Nigeria, the operation led to the arrest of 11 suspected terrorists, including high-level members of several terrorist groups.
“One notable transnational case involved a massive cryptocurrency-based Ponzi scheme, which claimed to be a legitimate online trading platform, and affected at least 17 countries around the world, including Cameroon, Kenya, and Nigeria.
“The scheme accumulated more than 100,000 victims around the world, with an estimated loss to victims of USD 562 million.
“The investigations related to Operation Catalyst found that several large-value wallets were potentially linked to terrorism financing activities. The case is still ongoing, with investigations currently in progress.”
For over a decade, Nigeria has been combating the terrorist threat posed by Boko Haram, with many lives lost, families devastated, and livelihoods destroyed. Over this time, individuals suspected of being associated with Boko Haram have been detained by Nigerian authorities, placing considerable strain on the criminal justice system to process their cases.
