An International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL-led) operation across seven African countries has led to the arrests of 306 cybercrime suspects, with 1,842 devices seized.
According to a statement by INTERPOL, the arrests were made as part of Operation Red Card (November 2024 – February 2025), which aims to disrupt and dismantle cross-border criminal networks that cause significant harm to individuals and businesses.
In particular, the operation targeted mobile banking, investment, and messaging app scams.
The cases uncovered during the operation involved more than 5,000 victims.
130 arrested in Nigeria
The statement revealed that of the 306 arrests, the Nigerian police arrested 130 people, including 113 foreign nationals, for their alleged involvement in cyber-enabled scams such as online casino and investment fraud.
“The suspects, who converted proceeds to digital assets to conceal their tracks, were recruited from different countries to run the illegal schemes in as many languages as possible.
“Nigerian authorities have established that some of the people working in the scam centres may also be victims of human trafficking, forced or coerced into criminal activities,” INTERPOL stated.
It added that the investigation led to the seizure of 26 vehicles, 16 houses, 39 plots of land, and 685 devices.
South African authorities arrest 40
In a significant case from South Africa, authorities arrested 40 individuals and seized more than 1,000 SIM cards, along with 53 desktops and towers linked to a sophisticated SIM box fraud scheme. This setup, which reroutes international calls as local ones, is commonly used by criminals to carry out large-scale SMS phishing attacks.
- INTERPOL added that officers in Zambia also apprehended 14 suspected members of a criminal syndicate that hacked into victims’ phones.
- The scam involved sending a message containing a malicious link which, when clicked, installed malware to the device. This allowed hackers to take control of the messaging account, and ultimately the phone, giving them access to banking apps.
- The hackers were also able to use the victim’s messaging apps to share the malicious link within conversations and groups, enabling the scam to spread.
Other arrests
During the operation, Rwandan authorities arrested 45 members of a criminal network for their involvement in social engineering scams that defrauded victims of over USD 305,000 in 2024 alone.
- Their tactics included posing as telecommunications employees and claiming fake ‘jackpot’ wins to extract sensitive information and gain access to victims’ mobile banking accounts. Another method involved impersonating an injured family member to ask relatives for financial assistance towards hospital bills.
- Overall, USD 103,043 was recovered and 292 devices were seized.
International cooperation Commenting on the success of the operation, INTERPOL’s Director of the Cybercrime Directorate, Neal Jetton, 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.”
More insights
Ahead of the operation, countries exchanged criminal intelligence on key targets.
- This intelligence was enriched by INTERPOL with insights into criminal modus operandi using data from its private sector partners—Group-IB, Kaspersky, and Trend Micro.
- The seven participating countries were Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Togo, and Zambia.
- The operation was delivered through INTERPOL’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC), an initiative funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
