West African 'romance scammers' who were 'targeting lonely British pensioners' are arrested in London-led sting

Published: 22:09 BST, 13 October 2026 | Updated: 00:44 BST, 14 October 2026

Romance scammers who targeted British victims have been arrested in West Africa as part of an operation led by authorities in London.

Almost 30 alleged fraudsters were arrested in the operation which targeted suspects in countries including Ghana and Nigeria from Tuesday to Friday last week.

Those arrested allegedly used social media profiles to target victims in Britain and the US, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

It added 3.7million profiles linked to scams including romance fraud were shut down by Facebook and Instagram owner Meta.

In Sasaabi, in Ghana's Accra region, authorities arrested 19 people, seized 303 electronic devices and identified 117 trafficking victims.

Police in Nigeria's Delta state arrested nine people and seized six laptops, 35 phones and 12 routers.

Dozens of suspected fraudsters were arrested in West Africa as part of an operation led by British authorities

More than 100 members of international law enforcement agencies and technology companies had gathered in London to coordinate the operation. 

The NCA's deputy director of fraud Nick Sharp said investment fraud targeting British victims originates 'primarily from overseas and West Africa' and often involves romance scams.

He said: 'They use the romance fraud as a way of bringing the victim in and introducing them to investment opportunities, so there's a lot of hybrid crossover.'

Mr Sharp added many cases involving so-called sextortion are thought to originate in the region.

Sextortion is a form of blackmail where perpetrators threaten to share intimate photos of the victim online unless they agree to their demands.

Mr Sharp said impersonation scams based on 'well-known brands' or recognisable figures across social media platforms were also used to target victims in the UK.

It is not yet clear how many of the victims identified as part of the operation were British, or how much money individual victims lost, but the operation found $11million (£8.3million) in potential freezable funds.

Officers seized hundreds of electronic devices from alleged romance scammers who targeted victims in countries including Britain and the US

The operation was led by the Ghana Cyber Security Authority and supported by the NCA, Ghana Police Service, the FBI and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria.

FBI director Kash Patel said: 'We are demolishing scam centers across the globe and crushing a criminal industry preying on American citizens.'

And the fraud minister Lord Hanson said: 'Criminal gangs operating overseas are behind most of the scams targeting the British public.

'That is why these multi-agency operations are critical, and my thanks go to all the officers involved in intercepting and arresting these scammers.'

The NCA said warning signs of investment fraud included online advertisements promising guaranteed returns or low-risk investments, celebrity endorsements and being asked to communicate over instant messaging and social media.