Interpol says a coordinated police operation spanning 21 African countries led to 1,462 arrests and the recovery of more than $105 million during a two-month cybercrime crackdown in 2026. The effort, called Operation Serengeti III, ran from June 29 to August 31 and targeted ransomware, online scams, business email compromise, digital extortion and other forms of cyber-enabled fraud.
According to Interpol, the operation identified 65,929 victims and connected the criminal networks under investigation to losses of more than $385 million. The agency described the campaign as one of the largest cybercrime actions carried out in Africa.
Scope of the crackdown
Interpol said law enforcement agencies across the 21 participating countries worked on cases involving multiple types of online financial crime rather than a single scheme or platform. The arrests and asset recoveries were presented as the result of coordinated investigations into networks operating across borders.
The agency said the cases showed how cybercrime groups use digital tools and international reach to scale fraud, extortion and account-compromise operations. It added that the number of identified victims and the value of linked losses underline the breadth of the activity uncovered during the operation.
Illegal crypto mining site shut in Angola
One of the operation’s crypto-related actions took place in Angola, where investigators dismantled two illegal cryptocurrency mining centers. Police arrested nine people and seized more than 2,000 mining devices, according to Interpol.
Authorities also confiscated six illegal power transformation stations. Interpol said the electrical equipment alone was worth more than $1 million, highlighting the scale of infrastructure used to support the mining sites.
Fraud investigations in Nigeria, Uganda and Congo
In Nigeria, authorities traced more than $2.4 million in suspected proceeds from investment fraud. Interpol said a large share of those funds had been laundered through crypto transactions.
Ugandan authorities broke up two transnational fraud rings and arrested 365 foreign nationals allegedly tied to online investment and pension scams aimed at victims in Asia. Interpol said the groups ran a rotating call-center operation that used scripts, fake trading platforms and fraudulent websites to persuade pensioners to put money into non-existent investments.
Elsewhere, police arrested a Nigerian suspect accused of operating a phishing and business email compromise scheme that gathered about 2.1 million email addresses. In the Republic of Congo, 30 suspects were linked to another cybercrime operation, according to Interpol.
Private-sector support and ongoing cases
Interpol said several private-sector partners supported Operation Serengeti III, including Group-IB, Kaspersky, Uppsala Security and Meta. Their involvement formed part of the wider cross-border effort to identify suspects, map networks and follow the movement of funds.
The agency said multiple investigations remain active, with authorities still pursuing additional suspects and trying to trace more illicit proceeds. That means the arrest count, financial recoveries and case details disclosed so far may not be the final totals from the operation.
Source: decrypt.co