An international cybercrime operation coordinated by INTERPOL has led to the arrest of 1,462 suspects, the dismantling of 10,909 malicious networks and the recovery of more than $105 million in illicit funds across 21 countries, including 19 African countries, the international police organisation announced.
Dubbed Serengeti III, the operation ran from June 29 to August 31, 2026. It targeted online scams, ransomware, investment fraud, business email compromise and digital extortion, among other crimes.
Authorities identified 65,929 victims targeted by the criminal networks, while financial investigations linked these activities to losses exceeding $385 million.
In Uganda, law enforcement dismantled two transnational fraud networks and arrested 365 foreign nationals involved in online investment and pension scams, targeting victims in Asia, among others. Investigators uncovered call centres using fake trading platforms and fraudulent websites to lure investors.
In Angola, two illegal cryptocurrency mining centres were shut down, nine suspects arrested, and more than 2,000 mining devices and six illegal electrical substations seized. The seized electrical infrastructure is worth more than $1 million.
In Nigeria, authorities arrested a suspect involved in a large-scale phishing and business email compromise operation that harvested software credentials and about 2.1 million email addresses. A separate investigation into international investment scams uncovered transfers of more than $2.4 million in suspected criminal funds, part of which was laundered through cryptocurrencies.
Other operations dismantled a fraudulent mobile loan scheme in Tanzania, disrupted a vehicle import fraud network in Gabon and led to the arrest of 30 suspects in the Republic of Congo.
The participating African countries are Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The United States also took part in the operation.
According to INTERPOL, the operation drew on intelligence and technical expertise provided by private-sector partners to identify criminal infrastructure, support investigations and help dismantle the networks. Several investigations are still under way to identify further suspects and trace illicit funds.
INTERPOL’s 2026 Africa Cyber Threat Assessment Report highlights the rapid evolution of digital threats on the continent, including cybercriminals’ growing use of artificial intelligence and rising financial losses linked to their activities. Operation Serengeti III was co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe under the GLACY-e project.
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