International

From ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ to Jail: Nigeria Tops Interpol’s Cybercrime Arrest List

Published

1 day ago

Mar 25, 2025.

Nigeria Leads in Arrests: Out of 306 suspects arrested during Operation Red Card, Nigeria recorded the highest number with 130 suspects, including 113 foreign nationals, involved in cyber scams and investment fraud.
Massive Seizures: The operation led to the confiscation of 1,842 devices across seven African countries, with Nigerian authorities seizing 26 vehicles, 16 houses, 39 plots of land, and 685 devices linked to cybercrime.
International Cooperation: The coordinated effort between Interpol and law enforcement agencies in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Togo, and Zambia targeted mobile banking, investment, and messaging scams, revealing over 1,500 victims.

Interpol has announced the arrest of 306 individuals linked to cybercrime scams as part of Operation Red Card, conducted between November 2024 and February 2025 across seven African countries.

The operation, which targeted mobile banking, investment, and messaging app scams, revealed over 1,500 victims and involved coordinated efforts between law enforcement agencies and Interpol’s global crime-fighting infrastructure.

According to the BBC News Pidgin edition, the operation aimed to dismantle cross-border criminal networks that have been causing significant harm to individuals and businesses by exploiting digital platforms for illicit activities.

The arrests, which spanned Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Togo, and Zambia, resulted in the seizure of 1,842 devices used in cyber-enabled crimes. Interpol facilitated intelligence sharing among the participating countries, allowing law enforcement agencies to identify and disrupt the operations of organized cybercriminal networks.

The investigation focused on scams involving online investment fraud, mobile banking breaches, and the manipulation of messaging platforms to deceive and exploit victims. Nigeria recorded the highest number of arrests, accounting for 130 suspects, including 113 foreign nationals, making it the focal point of the operation. The country’s law enforcement agencies, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), played a crucial role in the success of the operation by tracking down and apprehending key figures involved in these sophisticated scams.

According to Interpol, the Nigerian police discovered that criminal organizations were actively recruiting and training young Nigerians to participate in internet fraud schemes. These groups provided recruits with devices, fake online profiles, and training on how to execute scams targeting individuals and businesses.

The arrested suspects were allegedly involved in a variety of cyber-enabled crimes, including online casino scams and investment frauds, which had defrauded victims of substantial amounts of money. Some of the suspects working at scam centers were later found to be victims of human trafficking, having been coerced into illegal activities under duress.

The EFCC previously reported a major breakthrough in December 2024 when it uncovered a large-scale internet fraud syndicate operating within Nigeria.

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Police on Surveillance

This group, known locally as “yahoo yahoo,” was involved in complex schemes designed to trick victims into transferring funds through fake investment platforms and manipulated communication channels. As part of the investigation, law enforcement authorities seized 26 vehicles, 16 houses, 39 plots of land, and 685 devices connected to these illegal operations. The scale of the seizures highlighted the extensive resources and infrastructure that cybercriminals use to perpetrate their crimes.

In Rwanda, authorities arrested 45 suspects involved in a criminal network specializing in social engineering scams. These scams included impersonating telecommunications employees to gather sensitive personal information and gain unauthorized access to victims’ phones and bank accounts. According to Interpol, the Rwandan police estimated that these scams defrauded victims of over $305,000 in 2024 alone. During the operation, authorities recovered $103,043 and confiscated 292 devices linked to the fraudulent activities. The scammers also employed sophisticated impersonation tactics, such as posing as injured family members or friends, to deceive and extract funds from their targets.

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