Overview
INTERPOL announced the results of Operation Serengeti III, the third annual coordinated crackdown on cybercrime in Africa. Conducted over the summer of 2026, the operation led to 1,462 arrests, the disruption of 10,909 malicious networks, and the recovery of more than $105 million in illicit funds.
The operation targeted online fraud, ransomware, and business email compromise (BEC), and follows earlier editions in 2024 and 2025.
Key Results
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Suspects arrested | 1,462 |
| Malicious networks disrupted | 10,909 |
| Illicit funds recovered | More than $105 million |
| Victims identified | Nearly 66,000 |
| Cumulative victim losses | More than $385 million |
| Participants | 20 African countries plus the United States |
INTERPOL supplied intelligence on suspicious domains, IP addresses, and command-and-control servers to support national investigations.
Country Highlights
- Uganda: The largest arrest total, with 365 foreign nationals arrested and two transnational fraud rings dismantled. Officials said most suspects were from South and East Asia and ran call centers using scripts and fake trading platforms to lure pensioners in Asia into bogus investments.
- Angola: Two illegal cryptocurrency mining centers shut down, nine arrests, more than 2,000 mining devices seized, and six illegal power transformation stations confiscated, valued at over $1 million.
- Nigeria: An arrest in a phishing and BEC operation that harvested credentials and amassed about 2.1 million email addresses. A separate investment scam led to one arrest and more than $2.4 million in suspected proceeds traced, much of it laundered through cryptocurrency.
- Tanzania: A malicious mobile loan app scheme was taken down.
- Gabon: A vehicle import fraud network operating on social media was disrupted.
- Republic of Congo: 30 people were arrested in connection with a cybercrime operation.
Separately, Ghana and Nigeria arrested or detained 28 people in an effort targeting West African scam compounds and identified more than 100 suspected trafficking victims.
Takeaways for Defenders
- BEC and investment fraud remain high-volume threats with large recoverable losses when funds are traced quickly.
- Infrastructure sharing works: domain, IP, and C2 intelligence feeds let local police act on global indicators.
- Report fraud fast: rapid reporting to banks and law enforcement improves the odds of freezing proceeds.
- Several investigations remain open as authorities pursue more suspects and trace proceeds.