Over 70 suspected cyber fraudsters have been apprehended by operatives of the International Criminal Police Organization, following a coordinated operation, which the INTERPOL says confirms the global footprint of Nigeria’s Black Axe and similar organized crime groups.
In its latest statement regarding the recent crackdown on West-African financial crime rings, the INTERPOL said in the codenamed Operation Jackal, the joint law enforcement effort mobilized 14 countries across four continents in a targeted strike against Black Axe and related West-African criminal organizations.
According to the communique, Operation Jackal marks the first time INTERPOL has coordinated a global operation specifically against Black Axe, which is rapidly becoming a major security threat worldwide.
Black Axe and similar groups are responsible for the majority of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud as well as many other serious crimes, according to evidence analyzed by INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC) and national law enforcement.
In South Africa alone, the two suspects arrested were wanted for online scams that extracted USD 1.8 million from victims.