African law enforcement, spearheaded by INTERPOL’s ‘Operation Red Card,’ has arrested 306 suspects involved in cross-border cybercrime. The operation, running from November 2024 to February 2025, seized 1,842 devices used in various scams affecting over 5,000 victims. These scams targeted mobile banking, investment platforms, and messaging apps.
INTERPOL collaborated with private sector partners—Group-IB, Kaspersky, and Trend Micro—to enhance intelligence on criminal tactics. Seven countries participated: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Togo, and Zambia.
Nigerian authorities apprehended 130 individuals, including 113 foreign nationals, linked to investment fraud and online casino scams. These criminals concealed profits in digital assets and operated multilingual scam centers, potentially employing human trafficking victims.
Zambian police arrested 14 suspects from a cybercrime gang that used malicious links to install malware on victims’ phones. This granted them control over messaging accounts and banking apps, facilitating widespread scams.
South African police arrested 40 individuals, seizing 53 computers and over 1,000 SIM cards used in SIM box fraud. This operation rerouted international calls as local ones, enabling large-scale SMS phishing attacks.
Rwandan authorities detained 45 individuals involved in social engineering scams, defrauding victims of over $305,000 in 2024. Their tactics included impersonating telecom staff and feigning distress from injured relatives.
INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate Director, Neal Jetton, stated, “The success of Operation Red Card demonstrates the power of international cooperation in combating cybercrime, which knows no borders and can have devastating effects on individuals and communities. The recovery of significant assets and devices, as well as the arrest of key suspects, sends a strong message to cybercriminals that their activities will not go unpunished.”
This operation builds on previous INTERPOL-led initiatives in Africa, including ‘Operation Serengeti‘ (1,006 arrests) and ‘Operation Africa Cyber Surge II’ (over 20,000 disrupted networks and $40 million in losses prevented). The coordinated efforts highlight the growing international response to sophisticated cybercrime originating from the African continent.
