From Romance Scams To Sextortion: INTERPOL Operation Exposes W/African Crime Networks

An eight-month INTERPOL-coordinated operation targeting West African organised crime groups, including the notorious Black Axe, has led to the identification of 263 suspects and the arrest of 58 people across 22 countries.

The operation, codenamed Operation Jackal IV, was conducted between November 2025 and June 2026 and focused on disrupting money laundering networks, identifying high-value criminal targets, tracing illicit assets and supporting arrests and prosecutions.

INTERPOL disclosed this in a statement published on its website on Tuesday.

The international police organisation said the operation was launched in response to the growing global threat posed by West African criminal networks, particularly groups such as Black Axe and other similar syndicates.

According to INTERPOL, the groups are responsible for a significant proportion of cyber-enabled financial crimes globally, including romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment fraud, business email compromise and other serious and violent offences.

“An eight-month operation targeting West African organised crime groups has led to 58 arrests and the identification of 263 suspects,” INTERPOL said.

The operation involved law enforcement agencies from 22 countries across six continents.

Tomonobu Kaya, Director of the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, said the operation demonstrated the importance of international cooperation in tackling transnational organised crime.

“By following illicit financial flows across borders, we are attacking the very lifeblood of organised crime and making it increasingly difficult for criminal networks to profit from their activities,” Kaya said.

In Argentina, investigators identified 196 individuals allegedly involved in a major Crime-as-a-Service network suspected of providing website domains and money laundering support to West African organised crime groups.

The investigation led to 17 arrests.

In South Africa, authorities raided seven locations in Johannesburg linked to a syndicate allegedly involved in romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries.

INTERPOL said the South African operation resulted in the arrest of 39 people, the seizure of $2.67 million and the blocking of 257 bank accounts.

In Italy, investigators identified an individual allegedly linked to a pan-European money laundering network that used shell companies, remittance services and cash withdrawals to disguise the origins of criminal proceeds.

INTERPOL said one account linked to the network was used to launder €845,000 through 560 transactions involving 20 different financial instruments.

In Romania, authorities dismantled a criminal group allegedly operating an investment scam through a call centre.
Eleven suspects were arrested, while authorities seized approximately €330,000 in cash and cryptocurrency, six properties and several luxury watches.

The international police organisation said the investment scam was estimated to have defrauded and laundered about €143 million globally.

The operation also uncovered an increase in the use of sextortion by West African organised crime groups against minors, with victims as young as 14 years old.

INTERPOL said the perpetrators typically approached victims through social media, established relationships and persuaded them to share explicit images or videos.

The victims were then allegedly threatened with the distribution of the material to their friends, relatives or social media contacts unless ransom payments were made.

INTERPOL also raised concerns over the increasing use of Crime-as-a-Service by criminal syndicates, with some groups allegedly outsourcing money laundering and other illicit activities to external providers through the dark web.

Nigeria was among the 22 countries that participated in Operation Jackal IV.
Other participating countries were Austria, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The operation resulted in the identification of hundreds of suspects, arrests, financial seizures and the disruption of criminal networks operating across multiple jurisdictions.