The International Criminal Police Organisation has announced the arrest of 300 people who have been linked to one of West Africa’s most feared criminal networks, Black Axe, and other affiliated groups.
The arrests were made possible in different operations conducted in 21 African countries. The operation started in April and continued until July 2024. According to Interpol, Black Axe and other affiliated groups around the world were conducting the most coordinated cybercrimes.
The Nigerian police commented on the operation, noting that it was a big blow to the country’s network of cybercriminals. They have equally warned that criminals may go global in a short time, making it a global threat.
Operation Jackal III, conducted by Interpol, led to the successful seizure of $3 million of illegal assets and the freezing of more than 700 bank accounts.
Speaking on the significance of the operations, Tomonobu Kaya, a senior Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre official, noted that financial technology crime is important because it aids cyber crime syndicates, which are mostly known for multi-million dollar online scams linked to cryptocurrencies and other online activities.
He explained that criminals have organized themselves very well. They are highly technologically knowledgeable and are always early adopters of technologies. He further claimed that fintech developments have moved money easily and illegally worldwide.
The report disclosed that the Black Axe is a secret network of criminals who have been involved in criminal activities such as trafficking, prostitution and killing operations in different countries around the world. It was disclosed that the group, in the past years, have been able to get its most considerable revenue from cybercrime.
The other part of the report disclosed that a large number of the members are educated to the university level and were initiated into the group during their university days.
In the report, Interpol disclosed that in 2022, Black Axe and other groups with similar missions were responsible for most of the crimes made possible through cyberspace and other dangerous crimes worldwide. They confirmed that in multiple operations around the world in 2022, Dozens of Black Axe and other gang members were arrested with their electronic devices sized by the raids that have happened across countries.
They cited an operation in Canada by authorities linked to Black Axe. In the operation, more than $5 billion (£3.8bn) was seized in 2017.
In a new development, Interpol has confirmed that a Global Rapid Intervention of Payments system has been launched to aid authorities in the 196 countries that are members of Interpol. It agreed that a high-level technological advancement is needed to deal with sophisticated criminals.
The new mechanism has started to see success. Interpol said it was used to halt a $40m scam targeting a Singaporean business in July 2024.
Kaya explained that Interpol must build a good database with reliable findings while helping countries build operational standards. He claimed that if countries could gather good data, it would be possible to take action.
Speaking on criminal activities, the West Africa Regional Coordinator from the Institute for Security Studies, Dr Oluwole Ojewale, criticised the government for its unwillingness to stop crimes and groups such as Black Axe. He noted that politicians in the countries have been using syndicates for their own gains, which has made them reluctant to fight them.
He further noted that the failure of the government apparatus has pressured people to join groups like the Black Axe; according to him, politicians have been the biggest rammers of criminals. He noted that more emphasis should be placed on providing amenities to the people rather than operating against criminal groups.
The report disclosed that Interpol’s Jackal Operations started in Ireland. It further noted that in 2020, the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau identified 1,000 people with links to Black Axe and arrested several members. The arrests made it possible to expose the far network of criminals.
The leader of Ireland’s operation, a detective superintendent at the GNECB named Michael Cryan, noted that the surge in cybercriminal activities in the country was due to the activities of the Black Axe. The detective disclosed that the criminals were all operating low-key, but the amount of money stolen was high.
According to Cryan, banks are being robbed from homes using laptops. He noted that in the past five years, nothing less than €200m ($220m; £170m) has been stolen from online criminals, which he said accounts for 20% of cybercrimes reported in the country.
He disclosed that Interpol had collected crypto assets worth more than €1m in one operation in the country.
