Black Axe dragnet nets 58 as Interpol uncovers €143m scam, sextortion of minors

By Tolulope Oke

INTERPOL has arrested 58 people and identified 263 suspects in a sweeping international operation targeting West African organised crime groups, including the notorious Black Axe network.

The eight-month crackdown, codenamed Operation Jackal IV, uncovered massive fraud operations, money-laundering networks and sextortion schemes targeting children as young as 14.

The operation ran from November 2025 to June 2026 and involved law-enforcement agencies from 22 countries across six continents, including Nigeria.

INTERPOL said the operation focused on tracking illicit financial flows, identifying high-value suspects, seizing criminal assets and supporting prosecutions.

According to the international police organisation, Black Axe and similar groups are responsible for a significant share of cyber-enabled financial crimes worldwide.

Their activities include romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment fraud, business email compromise, money laundering and other serious and violent crimes.

Director of the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, Tomonobu Kaya, said the operation demonstrated the strength of international cooperation against 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 people allegedly connected to a major Crime-as-a-Service network suspected of supplying website domains and money-laundering support to West African criminal organisations. The investigation led to 17 arrests.

South African authorities raided seven locations in Johannesburg linked to a syndicate accused of running romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries.

INTERPOL said authorities seized $2.67 million and blocked 257 bank accounts during the South African operation.

In Italy, investigators identified a suspect linked to a pan-European money-laundering network that allegedly used shell companies, remittance services and cash withdrawals to conceal criminal proceeds.

One account connected to the network allegedly laundered €845,000 through 560 transactions involving 20 financial instruments.

Romanian authorities also dismantled an investment-fraud ring operating through a call centre and arrested 11 people.

About €330,000 in cash and cryptocurrency, six properties and several luxury watches were seized. INTERPOL estimated that the group had stolen and laundered €143 million worldwide.

The operation also exposed the growing use of sextortion by West African criminal groups against minors.

INTERPOL said offenders contacted children through social media, gained their trust and coerced them into sharing explicit images or videos. The victims were then threatened with public exposure unless they paid a ransom.

Some victims were as young as 14.

The agency also found that criminal syndicates increasingly outsourced money laundering and other illegal services to external providers operating through the dark web.

Other participating countries were Argentina, Australia, Austria, 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.