A BBC report published on Friday, September 26, 2025, has detailed a sting operation carried out by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) across various African countries to crack down on cyber scammers.

According to the report, the operation led to the arrest of 260 suspects across 14 countries, including Ghana, during the crackdown conducted between July and August 2025.

In Ghana, the operation resulted in the arrest of 68 suspects, with authorities seizing 835 devices and identifying 108 victims.

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During the Ghana operations, investigators recovered $70,000 of an estimated $450,000 lost by victims through romance scams and sextortion.

The scammers in Ghana extracted payments using various schemes, including fake courier and customs shipment fees, the report said.

The scammers also secretly recorded intimate videos during explicit chats and used them to blackmail their victims.

Other countries where the operation was conducted include Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia.

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The operation, executed under the African Joint Operation Against Cybercrime project and funded by the UK, targeted criminal networks using social media and digital platforms to extort monies from victims.

In total, the investigation identified more than 1,400 victims across the 14 countries, with an estimated combined loss of $2.8 million (£2.1 million) suffered by the victims.

The crackdown, which led investigators to identify IP addresses, digital infrastructure, domains, and social media profiles linked to members of the scam syndicates, resulted in the seizure of USB drives, SIM cards, and forged documents.

Interpol stated that a total of 81 cybercrime groups were dismantled during the operation.

GA/AE


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