Nineteen people have been arrested in Ghana in an international crackdown on online scam networks, with authorities identifying 117 Nigerian nationals suspected of being victims of human trafficking.

The operation in Sasaabi, an Accra suburb, also led to the seizure of 303 electronic devices and the identification of 89 victims of online scams who reportedly lost approximately $8.3 million.

The disclosure was made by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in a statement issued by its Office of Public Affairs and shared on the US Embassy in Ghana’s Facebook page, detailing the outcome of an international crackdown on transnational criminal networks operating in West Africa.

The statement said the 117 suspected trafficking victims were awaiting repatriation to Nigeria. It did not provide details about the circumstances in which they were recruited or allegedly exploited.

The arrests formed part of an international initiative dubbed Joint Disruption Week, which began on October 6, 2026, and brought together law enforcement agencies from the United States, the United Kingdom, Ghana, Nigeria and other countries, alongside technology companies.

The DOJ described the exercise as the first coordinated international disruption effort focused specifically on West Africa.

Ghanaian agencies lead operation

According to the statement, the Ghanaian operation was led by the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), the Ghana Police Service’s Criminal Investigation Department and the National Security Service, with support from the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The arrests followed additional enforcement activities conducted at six locations in Ghana during the final week of September.

Those operations reportedly resulted in numerous arrests, the identification of 34 suspected trafficking victims and the seizure of 129 electronic devices.In Nigeria, authorities arrested nine people and seized 53 electronic devices during the enforcement period.

The DOJ said the combined operations in Ghana and Nigeria accounted for 28 arrests.It did not identify the suspects arrested in Ghana or specify the charges brought against them.

3.7 million online accounts removed

The international crackdown also resulted in the removal of more than 3.7 million accounts, pages and groups allegedly used to target victims through online fraud.

According to the DOJ, participating technology companies shared leads on more than 30 suspected scam centres with law enforcement agencies, contributing to arrests, the identification and rescue of trafficking victims, and cryptocurrency seizures.

The companies also identified more than $11 million in funds that could potentially be frozen. The statement did not indicate how much had actually been frozen or recovered.

Participating firms included Meta, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Adobe, Binance and Coinbase, alongside cybersecurity and blockchain investigation companies.

The schemes targeted included law enforcement impersonation, extortion through threats of arrest and fraudulent cryptocurrency investment operations commonly known as ‘pig butchering’.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the DOJ’s Criminal Division commended law enforcement officers in Ghana and Nigeria for their role in arresting suspects and seizing evidence.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the operation demonstrated the value of cooperation between law enforcement agencies and private industry in tackling transnational criminal networks.

The UK’s National Crime Agency also stressed that international partnerships were necessary because fraudsters could operate in one country while targeting victims across several jurisdictions.

Billions lost to investment scams

The DOJ cited figures from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center showing that investment scams were reported 72,984 times in 2025, with cryptocurrency investment fraud accounting for 72 per cent of that category.

Reported losses from investment scams increased from $3.96 billion in 2023 to $5.8 billion in 2024.

Losses from investment scams involving cryptocurrency reportedly exceeded $7.2 billion in 2025, representing a 24 per cent increase, according to the FBI’s annual report.

The DOJ cautioned that reported figures likely understate the actual scale of the problem because many victims do not report their losses.

The department said scam centres in West Africa operated in ways similar to organised criminal enterprises uncovered in Southeast Asia, recruiting workers, training them in social engineering and deploying coordinated fraud campaigns against victims worldwide.

The authorities said they would continue working with international partners and technology companies to dismantle criminal networks, pursue suspected perpetrators and recover proceeds from fraud.

The DOJ statement did not establish that every person identified during the raids was involved in criminal activity.