INTERPOL operation targets West African organized crime, resulting in 58 arrests
An eight-month international operation, Operation Jackal IV, led by INTERPOL, resulted in the arrest of 58 suspects and the identification of 263 others linked to West African organized crime groups, including Black Axe. The operation, which ran from November 2025 to June 2026 and involved 22 countries across six continents, aimed to disrupt money laundering networks, identify high-value criminal targets, seize illicit assets, and support the prosecution of suspects. These groups are reportedly responsible for a significant share of global cyber-enabled financial fraud, such as romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams, and business email compromise fraud, in addition to other serious crimes. Tomonobu Kaya, Director of the INTERPOL Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, highlighted the importance of international cooperation in combating organized crime by targeting illicit financial flows. In Argentina, 196 individuals were identified for their alleged roles in a Crime-as-a-Service network, leading to 17 arrests. Nigeria was among the participating countries, which also included Austria, Australia, Canada, C么te d鈥橧voire, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Several cases from Operation Jackal IV remain under investigation due to the complexity of financial crimes.
