Interpol has delivered a significant blow to Nigeria’s Black Axe mafia through a series of coordinated operations known as Operation Jackal III. Conducted between April and July 2024, these operations spanned 21 countries and resulted in the arrest of over 300 individuals linked to the notorious criminal network. The crackdown also led to the seizure of $3 million in illegal assets and the freezing of more than 700 bank accounts.
Despite this success, Interpol warns that the Black Axe mafia remains a global threat due to its technological sophistication and international reach. The group is heavily involved in cyber-enabled financial fraud, trafficking, and other serious crimes.
A senior official at Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, Tomonobu Kaya, stressed the significance of financial technology and cryptocurrency in aiding the operations of cybercrime syndicates which are renowned for multi-million dollar online scams.
He said, “They are very organised and very structured. These criminal syndicates are early adopters of new technologies… A lot of fintech developments make it easy to illegally move money around the world.”
The Black Axe is a secretive criminal network involved in trafficking, prostitution and killing operations around the world. However, cybercrime is the group’s largest source of revenue.
The report noted that several members of the dreaded group are university-educated and were recruited into the group during their schooling.In a 2022 report by Interpol, it said, “Black Axe and similar groups are responsible for the majority of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud as well as many other serious crimes.”Multiple so-called “Jackal” police operations have taken place since 2022.
Dozens of Black Axe and other gang members had been arrested and their electronic devices seized during these transnational raids.In one example, Canadian authorities said they busted a money-laundering scheme linked to Black Axe worth more than $5 billion (£3.8bn) in 2017.
Dealing with highly sophisticated criminal groups requires a high level of technological expertise and personnel.Interpol said it had launched the Global Rapid Intervention of Payments system which enables the authorities in its 196-member countries to freeze bank accounts around the world with unprecedented speed.
Kaya noted, “We need to have data and to collate our findings from these countries to help build a picture of their modus operandi. If we can gather this data, we can take action.”
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