INTERPOL Arrests Two Cybercrime Suspects in Nigeria

The International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has arrested two suspects in Nigeria over alleged cybercrime activities during a coordinated operation targeting online fraud, ransomware, business email compromise and digital extortion across Africa.

The arrests were made under Operation Serengeti III, a multinational enforcement initiative involving 20 African countries and the United States. The operation resulted in 1,462 arrests, the disruption of 10,909 malicious online networks and the identification of 65,929 victims. Investigators linked the criminal activities to losses exceeding $385 million, while more than $105 million in suspected illicit funds was recovered.

In Nigeria, one investigation led to the arrest of a suspect allegedly involved in a large-scale phishing and business email compromise scheme. The operation reportedly harvested software credentials and accumulated approximately 2.1 million email addresses. Investigators also recovered a luxury vehicle suspected to have been purchased with criminal proceeds.

A separate investigation targeted an alleged international investment fraud scheme promoted through messaging applications. The suspect was arrested after financial inquiries traced more than $2.4 million in suspected criminal proceeds, much of which was allegedly laundered through cryptocurrency transactions.

Elsewhere, authorities in Uganda dismantled two transnational fraud networks and arrested 365 foreign nationals allegedly connected to online investment and pension scams targeting victims in Asia.

In Angola, law enforcement officials shut down two illegal cryptocurrency mining facilities, arrested nine suspects and seized more than 2,000 mining devices.

The operation received support from private-sector cybersecurity organisations, including Group-IB, Kaspersky, Fortinet, Team Cymru and Meta, which provided intelligence on suspicious digital infrastructure.

INTERPOL said investigations were continuing, with authorities working to identify additional suspects, trace criminal proceeds and analyse evidence recovered during the operation.