Interpol-Led Operation Red Card Busts Cybercrime Networks Across Seven African Nations
Authorities in seven African countries arrested 306 individuals and seized 1,842 devices in a coordinated effort to dismantle cross-border cybercrime networks. The operation, known as Red Card, took place between November 2024 and February 2025 across Benin, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Togo, and Zambia, targeting scams involving mobile banking, investment fraud, and messaging apps. Investigators identified more than 5,000 victims.
In Nigeria, police arrested 130 suspects, including 113 foreign nationals, for allegedly running scams such as online casino and investment fraud. Authorities reported that the suspects laundered profits through digital assets to evade detection. Many were reportedly recruited from different countries to operate these schemes in various languages. Some individuals working in the scam centers were believed to be victims of human trafficking, coerced into participating in the operations. Police confiscated 26 vehicles, 16 houses, 39 plots of land, and 685 devices during the investigation.
In South Africa, authorities arrested 40 suspects and recovered over 1,000 SIM cards and 53 computers linked to a SIM box fraud scheme. Criminals allegedly used SIM boxes to reroute international calls as local ones, enabling large-scale SMS phishing attacks.
Zambian police dismantled a hacking ring and arrested 14 suspects. The gang allegedly distributed malicious links that, once clicked, installed malware giving hackers control over victims’ phones and messaging apps, including banking applications. The hackers then spread the malware by using the victims’ messaging apps to target others.
In Rwanda, authorities arrested 45 people accused of stealing more than $305,000 in 2024 through social engineering scams. The suspects allegedly posed as telecommunications workers or pretended to be injured family members to trick victims into revealing sensitive information or transferring money.
The recovery of significant assets and devices, along with the arrest of key suspects, reinforces the message that cybercriminal activities will not go unpunished, according to Neal Jetton, director of Interpol’s Cybercrime Directorate.
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