‘Operation Jackal’, a global operation coordinated by INTERPOL against the cybercrime ring Black Axe resulted in 75 arrests last week, as the organization announced in an official statement.
The operation took place between 26-30th of September and mobilized law enforcement agencies from 14 countries (Argentina, Australia, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and also targeted organized crime groups in West Africa.
As Security Affairs explained, this is INTERPOL’s first operation that targets the Black Axe cybercrime ring. Following the ‘action week’, at the end of September, Interpol announced on Twitter the detention of two alleged members of the cybercrime organization, thought to be behind online scams that resulted in the extortion of $1.8 million from their victims.
An INTERPOL team is on the ground in South Africa🇿🇦 this week where two suspected organized crime members were arrested as part of a global operation against large-scale #FinancialCrime 💸
The suspects are wanted for online scams that extracted $1.8 million from victims. pic.twitter.com/jOBv0I02AG
— INTERPOL (@INTERPOL_HQ) September 30, 2022
On the 14th of October, International Criminal Police Organization published an official statement, announcing the results of the operation:
- EUR 1.2 million intercepted in bank accounts
- 75 arrests
- 49 property searches
- 7 INTERPOL Purple Notices, detailing criminal modus operandi
- 6 INTERPOL Red Notices, issued for internationally-wanted fugitives
The immense quantity of assets seized, including 12,000 SIM cards, have provided new investigative leads for law enforcement, generating 13 analytical reports and allowing police to identify more than 70 additional suspects. The lavish lifestyles and greed of many suspects – allegedly paid for by defrauding members of the public of their savings and other criminal activities – was on clear display at the scenes of their arrest. Various luxury assets were seized, including a residential property, three cars and tens of thousands in cash.
Stephen Kavanagh, the Executive Director of Police Services, INTERPOL, also warns that these groups require a global response because they use the funds from financial frauds to finance other crime areas such as drugs and even human trafficking: “Illicit financial funds are the lifeblood of transnational organized crime, and we have witnessed how groups like Black Axe will channel money gained from online financial scams into other crime areas, such as drugs and human trafficking. These groups demand a global response.”
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