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CrimeAfrica

Interpol arrests over 1,200 in African cybercrime crackdown

Emmy Sasipornkarn with AFP, AP
August 22, 2025

The operation dubbed "Serengeti 2.0" saw Interpol and African investigators work together to take down crime networks and recover nearly $100 million from suspected scammers.

A woman uses a smartphone in front of a laptop
Interpol said the scams targeted nearly 88,000 victimsImage: Issouf Sanogo/AFP

More than 1,200 people were arrested in a major cybercrime crackdown in Africa, the international police organization Interpol announced on Friday.

Investigators from 18 African countries and the United Kingdom identified some 88,000 victims of fraud and illegal cryptocurrency networks, Interpol said in a statement.

Cybercrime now accounts for more than 30% of all reported crime in West and East Africa, according to the agency.

Cybercrime in Africa: When Africans target Africans

03:35

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What else do we know about Interpol's cybercrime crackdown?

The operation, dubbed "Serengeti 2.0," took place between June and August. It led to the arrest of 1,209 suspected cybercriminals, recovered $97.4 million (€83.2 million), and took down 11,432 malicious infrastructures.

In one bust, authorities in Angola dismantled 25 cryptocurrency mining centers, where Chinese operators had been mining cryptocurrency.

Angolan officials seized equipment worth an estimated $37 million, "now earmarked by the government to support power distribution in vulnerable areas," according to Interpol.

In the Ivory Coast, Interpol also said it dismantled a transnational inheritance scam — described as "one of the oldest internet frauds." Scammers tricked victims into paying fees to claim fake inheritances, causing about $1.6 million in losses.

And in Zambia, investigators targeted a network responsible for an online investment scam that defrauded more than 65,000 victims of an estimated $300 million.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic

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