Two Nigerians were among the 1,462 suspects arrested by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) for allegedly operating “malicious” networks for cybercrimes in Africa.
In a statement published on Interpol’s website on Thursday, the international police said the operation code-named “Operation Serengeti III” lasted between June 29 and August 31, 2026.
Interpol said law enforcement agencies from 20 African countries and the United States participated in the operation to “combat cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), online scams and digital extortion”.
The participating countries are Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, United States, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
According to the global police, the operation led to the arrest of 1,462 suspects, disruption of 10,909 malicious networks and recovery of $105 million illicit funds.
In Nigeria, law enforcement agencies arrested a suspect over alleged involvement in large-scale phishing that “harvested software credentials and amassed approximately 2.1 million email addresses”.
The second suspect was arrested over alleged investment fraud involving $2.4 million, which was laundered through cryptocurrency transactions.
Authorities also arrested 365 foreign nationals in Uganda over alleged involvement in “sophisticated online investment and pension fraud schemes targeting victims across Asia”.
“Prior to the operation, investigators from 20 African countries and from the United States were provided with actionable intelligence on suspicious domains, IP addresses and command-and-control infrastructure linked to criminal activity,” the statement reads.
“In Angola, investigators dismantled two illegal cryptocurrency mining centres, arresting nine suspects and seizing more than 2,000 cryptocurrency mining devices alongside six illegal power transformation stations. The seized electrical infrastructure alone was valued at more than USD 1 million.
“In Nigeria, authorities arrested a suspect behind a large-scale phishing and business email compromise operation that harvested software credentials and amassed approximately 2.1 million email addresses. Investigators also recovered a luxury vehicle suspected to have been purchased with criminal proceeds.
“A separate Nigerian investigation targeted an international investment fraud scheme promoted via messaging apps, leading to the arrest of a suspect. Financial investigations revealed the movement of more than USD 2.4 million in suspected criminal proceeds, much of which was laundered through cryptocurrency transactions.
“Elsewhere, authorities dismantled a malicious mobile loan application scheme in Tanzania, disrupted a social media-based vehicle import fraud network in Gabon, and arrested 30 suspects linked to a cybercrime operation in the Republic of Congo.”
