Interpol Arrests 260 Suspects in Pan-African Cybercrime Crackdown

Interpol coordinated a major crackdown called Operation Contender 3.0 across 14 African nations, resulting in the arrests of 260 suspects involved in online romance scams and sextortion schemes that defrauded over 1,400 victims of nearly $2.8 million. The operation, conducted between late July and mid-August 2025, dismantled 81 cybercrime infrastructures and seized more than 1,200 electronic devices, including SIM cards, USB drives, and forged documents. Ghana led in arrests with 68 suspects and recovered $70,000 of the $450,000 lost by victims there, while Senegal and Ivory Coast also recorded significant busts involving fake profiles and blackmail through explicit images. Interpol highlighted the rising threat of cyber-enabled crimes fueled by the growth of online platforms, causing both financial and psychological harm. The collaboration included private sector partners, enhancing data sharing and operational capacity to disrupt these transnational criminal networks exploiting social media and dating apps. Kenya's involvement underscored East Africa's growing role in these cybercrime networks, marking a shift from being merely a transit route to a hotspot for such scams.