Law enforcement agencies across 21 countries including The Gambia have arrested 1,462 suspects and recovered over $105 million equivalent to D7.5 billion in a major cybercrime crackdown coordinated by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL).
The operation, codenamed operation Serengeti III, ran from June 29 to August 31, 2026, targeting cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), online scams and digital extortion.
According to INTERPOL, authorities disrupted 10,909 malicious networks and identified 65,929 victims. Financial investigations linked the criminal networks to losses exceeding $385 million.
The operation involved The Gambia, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the United States.
Prior to the swoop, investigators from 20 African countries and the US received intelligence on suspicious domains, IP addresses and command-and-control infrastructure linked to criminal networks.
Uganda recorded one of the biggest breakthroughs. Authorities dismantled two transnational fraud rings and arrested 365 foreign nationals linked to sophisticated online investment and pension fraud schemes targeting victims in Asia. Investigators uncovered a rotating call-centre operation using scripted communications, fake trading platforms and fraudulent websites to defraud pensioners.
In Angola, authorities dismantled two illegal cryptocurrency mining centres, arrested nine suspects and seized over 2,000 mining devices and six illegal power substations valued at over $1 million.
In Nigeria, investigators arrested a suspect linked to a large-scale phishing and BEC operation that harvested credentials and amassed about 2.1 million email addresses. A luxury vehicle suspected to have been bought with criminal proceeds was also recovered. In a separate case, investigators traced over $2.4 million in suspected proceeds laundered through cryptocurrency from an investment fraud scheme promoted via messaging apps.
In Tanzania, authorities dismantled a malicious mobile loan application scheme, while Gabon disrupted a social media-based vehicle import fraud network. In the Republic of Congo, 30 suspects linked to a cybercrime operation were arrested.
INTERPOL Director of Cybercrime Neal Jetton said the operation proves that international cooperation is the most effective weapon against borderless cybercrime.
“While cybercrime is increasingly borderless, international cooperation remains one of the most effective tools for disrupting criminal networks, recovering criminal assets and protecting communities from digital harm,” Jetton said.
The operation comes as INTERPOL’s African Cyber Threat Assessment Report 2026 warns of growing sophistication of cybercrime in Africa, including the use of artificial intelligence to facilitate fraud and rising cyber-enabled financial losses.
INTERPOL said several investigations arising from Serengeti III remain active, with authorities continuing to trace illicit funds, identify additional suspects and analyse seized digital evidence.
The operation was supported by Group-IB, Kaspersky, Fortinet, Team Cymru, Uppsala Security, Cybercrime Atlas, Meta and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, as well as Zimbabwe’s Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.
