The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has arrested two Nigerians over alleged cybercrime offences, including a phishing operation involving millions of email addresses and an investment fraud scheme linked to more than $2.4 million in suspected criminal proceeds.
The arrests were made during a multinational crackdown on cybercrime that resulted in 1,462 arrests across Africa, with investigators also disrupting 10,909 malicious networks and recovering $105 million in illicit funds.
Interpol disclosed the development in a statement published on its website on Thursday, saying the operation, known as Operation Serengeti III, was carried out between June 29 and August 31, 2026.
Law enforcement agencies from 20 African countries and the United States participated in the exercise, which focused on cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, business email compromise, online scams and digital extortion.
According to Interpol, one of the suspects arrested in Nigeria was allegedly involved in a large-scale phishing and business email compromise operation that harvested software credentials and gathered approximately 2.1 million email addresses.
Investigators also recovered a luxury vehicle suspected to have been acquired with proceeds from the alleged criminal activities.
The second arrest followed an investigation into an international investment fraud scheme allegedly promoted through messaging applications.
Financial investigations reportedly uncovered the movement of more than $2.4 million in suspected criminal proceeds, much of which was allegedly laundered through cryptocurrency transactions.
“Prior to the operation, investigators from 20 African countries and from the United States were provided with actionable intelligence on suspicious domains, IP addresses and command-and-control infrastructure linked to criminal activity,” Interpol said.
The operation also recorded significant arrests and seizures in other African countries.
In Uganda, authorities arrested 365 foreign nationals suspected of involvement in sophisticated online investment and pension fraud schemes targeting victims across Asia.
In Angola, investigators dismantled two illegal cryptocurrency mining centres and arrested nine suspects. More than 2,000 cryptocurrency mining devices and six illegal power transformation stations were seized, with the electrical infrastructure alone valued at over $1 million.
Authorities in Tanzania dismantled a malicious mobile loan application scheme, while investigators in Gabon disrupted a vehicle import fraud network allegedly operating through social media.
In the Republic of Congo, 30 suspects were arrested over alleged links to a cybercrime operation.
The participating countries were Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, alongside the United States.
Interpol said the operation was aimed at combating increasingly sophisticated cybercrime activities by improving intelligence-sharing and enabling law enforcement agencies to identify criminal infrastructure, apprehend suspects and recover illicit proceeds.
The arrests and disruptions represent part of a broader international effort to tackle online fraud and other digital offences that exploit individuals, businesses and financial systems across borders.
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