INTERPOL arrests 58 in global crackdown on Black Axe crime network

INTERPOL officials. CREDIT: INTERPOL website

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

The operation, codenamed Operation Jackal IV, ran from November 2025 to June 2026 and focused on disrupting money laundering, identifying high-value targets, seizing criminal assets and supporting arrests and prosecutions.

This was contained in a statement published on the INTERPOL website on Tuesday.

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

“The operation, which brought together 22 countries from six continents, is a response to the escalating global threat posed by West African criminal networks – such as the Black Axe and other similar groups.

“These groups are responsible for a significant share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud, typically through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams or business email compromise fraud, as well as other serious and violent crimes.”

Director of the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, Tomonobu Kaya, said, “Operation Jackal IV demonstrates the power of international cooperation. By following illicit financial flows across borders, we are attacking the very lifeblood of organized crime and making it increasingly difficult for criminal networks to profit from their activities.”

In Argentina, 196 individuals were identified over their alleged roles 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 resulted in 17 arrests.

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

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

In Italy, one individual was identified in connection with a pan-European money laundering network that used shell companies, remittance services and cash withdrawals to conceal the origins of funds.

INTERPOL said a single account in the network laundered €845,000 through 560 transactions using 20 different financial instruments.

In Romania, authorities dismantled a criminal group operating an investment scam through a call centre and arrested 11 people.

The operation also resulted in the seizure of about €330,000 in cash and cryptocurrency, six properties and several luxury watches. INTERPOL said the scam was estimated to have stolen and laundered €143 million globally.

According to INTERPOL, the operation also identified a rise in the use of sextortion by West African organised crime groups to target minors, with victims as young as 14.

It said offenders typically contacted minors through social media, built trust and coerced them into sharing explicit images or videos before threatening to distribute the material to the victims’ contacts unless a ransom was paid.

The agency added that some criminal syndicates were procuring Crime-as-a-Service from external providers, often through the dark web, to outsource activities including money laundering.

Nigeria was among the 22 participating countries in the operation, alongside 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.