International police cooperation has led to the arrest of 58 people linked to organized West African cybercrime networks in a major operation spanning 22 countries across six continents, Interpol has announced. Known as Operation Jackal IV, the operation ran from November 2025 to June 2026 and targeted criminal networks involved in romance scams, investment fraud, cryptocurrency-related crime and business email compromise. Interpol said investigators identified 263 suspects and uncovered evidence of increasingly sophisticated methods used to steal money and move illicit proceeds across international borders. The operation also examined the use of sextortion to target minors, with some victims reportedly as young as 14. Investigators found that organized groups were exploiting social media and digital communication platforms to target vulnerable people, including retirees in English-speaking countries.
Interpol said the networks investigated include groups associated with Black Axe, a Nigerian-origin organized crime network that has been linked by international law-enforcement agencies to fraud, money laundering, trafficking and other serious crimes. “By following illicit financial flows across borders, we are attacking the very lifeblood of organized crime,” said Tomonobu Kaya, director of Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre. In South Africa, police raided seven locations connected to a syndicate allegedly involved in romance and investment scams. Interpol officers supported the operation in Johannesburg. South African authorities arrested 39 people, seized about $2.67 million and froze 257 bank accounts suspected of being linked to criminal proceeds.
Other arrests were reported in countries including Argentina, Italy and Romania, although Interpol said several investigations remain active and further arrests are possible. The operation focused not only on cyber-enabled fraud but also on how criminal organizations launder their profits through complex international financial networks. Interpol said the findings demonstrate how West African criminal groups have developed into highly organized transnational networks capable of operating across multiple jurisdictions. Operation Jackal IV is the latest in a series of international operations targeting these networks. Operation Jackal III in 2024 resulted in around 300 arrests linked to Black Axe and affiliated groups. Interpol said continued international cooperation, intelligence sharing and financial investigations will be essential to disrupting the networks and preventing them from exploiting victims across borders.
