INTERPOL Operation Red Card 2.0: 651 Arrested and More Than $4.3M Recovered in Pan‑African Cybercrime Sweep
Law enforcement agencies across 16 African states joined an INTERPOL-led crackdown on online scams, resulting in 651 arrests and the recovery of more than $4.3 million. The coordinated effort aimed to dismantle the networks and infrastructure behind lucrative online fraud schemes that target consumers and businesses.
Branded “Operation Red Card 2.0″, the campaign ran from December 8, 2025, through January 30, 2026. Investigators focused on the systems and individuals fueling high-yield investment frauds, mobile money con operations, and fake mobile loan applications.
Participating nations in the campaign included Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Chad, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The operation was carried out under the framework of the African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC).
According to INTERPOL, the eight-week probe exposed scams tied to more than USD 45 million in alleged losses and identified 1,247 victims, most of whom were located in Africa, though some came from other regions as well.
Authorities also confiscated 2,341 electronic devices and dismantled 1,442 malicious IP addresses, domains, and servers, alongside other related infrastructure used to perpetrate fraud.
Several significant case results were highlighted by investigators:
– In Nigeria, police took down a high-yield investment fraud ring that had been recruiting young people to carry out cyber-enabled crimes. Tactics included phishing, identity theft, social engineering, and sham digital-asset investment platforms. More than 1,000 fake social media profiles linked to the scheme were removed.
– Also in Nigeria, six suspects from an organized crime group were arrested after exploiting compromised staff credentials to breach the internal systems of a major telecommunications company. The intruders allegedly siphoned off large quantities of airtime and mobile data for resale on illicit markets.
– Kenyan authorities apprehended 27 people suspected of running an investment scam that leveraged messaging apps, social media, and fabricated testimonials. Victims were coaxed into making payments with promises of outsized returns, shown bogus account statements or dashboards to sustain the illusion, and then blocked from withdrawing funds.
– In Côte d’Ivoire, law enforcement arrested 58 individuals and seized 240 mobile phones, 25 laptops, and more than 300 SIM cards in connection with a predatory mobile-loan fraud operation. The scheme primarily targeted vulnerable groups through counterfeit apps and messaging campaigns, luring applicants with claims of unsecured loans before imposing hidden fees, abusive collections practices and stealing sensitive personal and financial information.
Neal Jetton, director of INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate, stressed that organized cybercrime networks inflict both financial and psychological damage on individuals, businesses, and communities. He underlined that transnational cooperation was essential to disrupting these syndicates and urged anyone affected by cybercrime to report incidents to law enforcement.
Operation Red Card 2.0 is the second phase of the initiative. The first wave, conducted between November 2024 and February 2025, resulted in 306 arrests and the seizure of 1,842 devices.