Europol has arrested 10 Nigerians as part of a major crackdown on the ‘Black Axe’ international criminal network, with fraud losses estimated at over €5.93 million.
The arrests were carried out in Spain, where authorities detained a total of 34 suspects linked to the organised crime group.
The disclosure was contained in a statement published on Europol’s website last week, detailing the outcome of a coordinated operation involving Spanish and German law enforcement agencies.
Europol said the operation targeted what investigators described as the core leadership of the criminal network, alongside facilitators involved in its financial operations.
What Europol is saying
Europol said the operation was led by the Spanish National Police, in close cooperation with the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office in Germany, with analytical and operational support from Europol.
The agency said the suspects were linked to the Black Axe criminal organisation, described as a highly structured and hierarchical group with origins in Nigeria and a presence in dozens of countries.
According to the statement, the network was involved in a wide range of criminal activities, including cyber-enabled fraud, drug trafficking, human trafficking, prostitution, kidnapping, armed robbery, and fraudulent spiritual practices.
“The Spanish National Police (Policía Nacional), in close cooperation with the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt) and with the support of Europol, has conducted an operation against the international criminal organisation ‘Black Axe’.
“The action resulted in 34 arrests and significant disruptions to the group’s activities. Black Axe is a highly structured, hierarchical group with its origins in Nigeria and a global presence in dozens of countries. The core group of arrested suspects consists of 10 individuals of Nigerian nationality,” the statement read in part.
Europol said the group generated billions of euros annually, largely through numerous small-scale operations that collectively caused significant financial damage.
The statement revealed that 28 arrests were made in Seville, while others took place in Madrid, Málaga, and Barcelona. Investigators also froze €119,352 in bank accounts and seized €66,403 in cash during coordinated house searches across Spain.
More insights
Europol said the criminal network relied heavily on money mules, often recruited from economically vulnerable communities with high unemployment. Many of these individuals, largely Spanish nationals, were exploited to move illicit funds and conceal fraud proceeds within ordinary local transactions.
The agency said the cross-border operation involved intelligence sharing, data analysis, and operational coordination, including the deployment of German officers to Spain during the action phase.
Europol added that it supported the investigation through information analysis, a data sprint in Madrid, and real-time coordination between national authorities.
Providing background, Europol said Black Axe, formally linked to the Neo-Black Movement of Africa, operated through a zonal structure in Nigeria and abroad, with thousands of registered members and affiliated facilitators worldwide.
The agency said the operation aimed to disrupt the group’s leadership, dismantle its financial networks, and seize criminal assets due to its transnational and fragmented operations.
What you should know
This is not the first time foreign police have targeted Black Axe. In a coordinated Interpol operation between April and July 2024, 300 individuals linked to the Nigerian-founded network were arrested across 21 countries.
The operation, known as Jackal III, exposed the group’s transnational scale and its use of cybercrime and cryptocurrency for money laundering.
In November 2023, Irish authorities seized over €1 million in crypto-assets, $3 million in other illegal assets, and froze more than 700 bank accounts tied to the group.
These efforts have allowed law enforcement to gather crucial intelligence and create a shared database across Interpol’s 196 member countries.
