Interpol, in a concerted initiative against cybercrime, has secured the arrest of 1,209 suspects across Africa and has reclaimed nearly $97.4 million in assets, as per Friday’s announcement.
This operation, named Serengeti 2.0, spanned from June to August, rallying investigators from 18 African nations and the United Kingdom. Their collective aim was to counteract a range of cybercrimes, inclusive of inheritance scams, ransomware, and business email compromise. According to reliable sources, these scams targeted almost 88,000 individuals.
Reports from Angola indicate that authorities there have dismantled 25 cryptocurrency mining centers, where 60 Chinese nationals were engaged in mining activities. This operation resulted in the seizure of equipment valued at more than $37 million. The government now intends to utilize this equipment to enhance power distribution in areas of vulnerability.
In Zambia, the operation brought down an online investment scheme that had defrauded over 65,000 victims of an estimated $300 million through a fraudulent high-return cryptocurrency scam. Interpol reports that 15 individuals have been taken into custody, with evidence such as domains, mobile numbers, and bank accounts also seized.
This investigation in Zambia led to the disruption of a suspected human trafficking network. In another development, Interpol dismantled a transnational inheritance scam in the Ivory Coast, originating in Germany, which caused losses of $1.6 million.
You May Also Like: Pakistan Mourns as Monsoon Floods Claim Over 350 Lives
Interpol, globally recognized as the largest international police network, celebrated its centennial last year and comprises 196 member countries. Based in Lyons, France, its mission is to facilitate communication between national police forces and to track suspects in areas such as counterterrorism, financial crime, child pornography, cybercrime, and organized crime.
In recent years, it has grappled with new challenges, including an increasing caseload of cybercrime and child sex abuse, and escalating divisions among its member countries. Last year, during the first Operation Serengeti, Interpol arrested over 1,000 individuals in operations that targeted 35,000 victims.
This raises important questions about international cooperation in combating cybercrime, the growing threat of such crimes, and the strategies employed to counter them.