By: Eniola Amadu
INTERPOL has arrested 1,209 cybercrime suspects across 18 African countries in a coordinated operation that ran from June to August 2025, recovering USD 97.4 million and dismantling more than 11,000 malicious infrastructures in a major crackdown on online scams, ransomware, and business email compromise (BEC).
Codenamed Operation Serengeti 2.0, the exercise brought together law enforcement agencies from Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with support from the United Kingdom.
The joint effort focused on tackling high-impact cybercrime.
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INTERPOL confirmed that it dismantled 11,432 malicious infrastructures and intercepted illicit transactions worth millions.
“The crackdown recovered USD 97.4 million and dismantled 11,432 malicious infrastructures, underscoring the global reach of cybercrime and the urgent need for cross-border cooperation,” the agency said.
Authorities in Angola reported shutting down 25 illegal cryptocurrency mining centres operated by 60 Chinese nationals, seizing equipment worth USD 37 million along with 45 unauthorised power stations.
In Zambia, officials broke up a crypto fraud syndicate that defrauded 65,000 victims of about USD 300 million, arresting 15 suspects and seizing critical evidence.
Another raid uncovered a scam centre linked to human trafficking, resulting in the confiscation of 372 forged passports.
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Meanwhile, police in Côte d’Ivoire disrupted a transnational inheritance fraud connected to Germany, arresting the ringleader and seizing cash, jewellery, vehicles, and documents valued at USD 1.6 million.
