The arrests were made as part of Operation Red Card, taking place from November 2024 to February 2025, which aimed to disrupt and dismantle cross-border criminal networks in Africa.

In particular, the operation uncovered over 5,000 victims and focused on mobile banking, investment, messaging app scams, as well as online gambling platforms.

Neal Jetton, Interpol’s director of the cybercrime directorate, said: “The success of Operation Red Card demonstrates the power of international cooperation in combating cybercrime, which knows no borders and can have devastating effects on individuals and communities.

“The recovery of significant assets and devices, as well as the arrest of key suspects, sends a strong message to cybercriminals that their activities will not go unpunished.”

Interpol cracks online casino scheme

As part of the crackdown, Nigerian police arrested 130 people, including 113 foreign nationals, for their alleged involvement in cyber-enabled scams involving online casino and investment fraud.

The police outlined that the suspects, recruited from different countries to run the illegal schemes in as many languages as possible, converted the proceeds to digital assets to conceal their tracks.

Nigerian authorities established that some of the people working in the scam centres may also be victims of human trafficking, and were forced or coerced into criminal activities.

This is a similar modus operandi to cybercrime centres in Southeast Asia, which also have been accused of trafficking victims to work in sophisticated scam centres with an online gambling component.

NEXT.iounderstands many of these illegal cyber enterprises have spread worldwide in reaction to increased enforcement in the region over the past 18 months.

Overall, the Nigerian investigation led to the seizure of 26 vehicles, 16 houses, 39 plots of land and 685 devices.

In South Africa meanwhile, authorities seized over 1,000 SIM cards and 53 computer systems, while Zambian police apprehended 14 suspects involved in malware-driven phone hijacking schemes.

In Rwanda, 45 network members were arrested for scams that netted over $305,000, with authorities recovering $103,043 and seizing 292 devices in an aggressive effort to combat digital crime.