Nineteen suspected scammers were arrested in Ghana and nine in Nigeria in an international operation targeting fraud syndicates accused of stealing millions of dollars from internet users through investment, romance and impersonation scams, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Wednesday.
The operation, which US authorities described as the first of its kind in West Africa, was carried out in coordination with the UK’s National Crime Agency, local law enforcement agencies and several technology companies.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the criminal networks had become increasingly sophisticated and were often linked to human trafficking operations.
“These criminal operations are increasingly sophisticated, organised and linked to human trafficking,” Pirro told reporters.
Authorities arrested 19 suspects in a suburb of the Ghanaian capital Accra and seized 303 electronic devices.
The DOJ said the Ghana-based operation allegedly defrauded 89 victims of about US$8.3 million.
Investigators also identified 117 suspected victims of human trafficking who are awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.
A further nine suspects were arrested in Nigeria as part of the wider crackdown.
The Justice Department said it froze US$11 million in assets linked to the alleged fraudsters and disrupted a range of criminal schemes, including cryptocurrency investment fraud, law-enforcement impersonation scams and so-called “digital arrest” extortion schemes.
The operation also targeted social media networks used to lure victims.
Meta said it removed more than 3.7 million accounts, pages and groups on Facebook and Instagram linked to fraudulent activities.
Other companies participating in the crackdown included Adobe, Binance, Coinbase, Google, Microsoft and OpenAI.
According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, the suspects used a range of tactics, including fake employment offers, military impersonation scams and online romance schemes that frequently targeted elderly victims.
The DOJ said criminal scam centres uncovered in West Africa resembled those previously exposed in Southeast Asia.
According to investigators, the centres operate as organised enterprises that recruit workers, train them in social engineering techniques and conduct coordinated fraud campaigns across multiple online platforms.
JN/APA