In a sweeping crackdown that spanned much of the African continent, authorities have arrested more than 260 suspected cybercriminals and dismantled dozens of illicit digital operations, according to multiple international sources. The sting, dubbed Operation Contender 3.0, was coordinated by Interpol and funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. It targeted networks engaged in romance scams and sextortion schemes that have left more than 1,400 victims reeling from both financial and psychological damage.
Between July 28 and August 11, 2025, law enforcement agencies across 14 African nations—including Ghana, Kenya, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Nigeria, and others—joined forces to bring down criminal syndicates exploiting social media and digital platforms. The High Street Journal reports that Ghanaian authorities alone arrested 68 suspects and seized 835 electronic devices, while the total operation netted more than 1,200 devices, including USB drives, SIM cards, and forged documents. Investigators traced losses totaling nearly $2.8 million, with $70,000 recovered in Ghana from an estimated $450,000 in losses there.
The operation’s breadth was unprecedented. According to BBC News, investigators identified 1,463 victims across the region, many of whom were lured into online relationships or blackmailed after explicit exchanges. “It doesn’t take long before you develop a connection with somebody… and very quickly this trust is shattered,” Interpol’s director of cybercrime Neal Jetton told BBC’s Newsday programme. The victims, Jetton added, spanned a wide range of ages, but “typically a lot these scams do affect older people.”
Romance scams and sextortion have surged across Africa in recent years, fueled by the rapid expansion of online platforms, mobile money services, and social networks. Analysts note that the digital landscape, while offering new opportunities for connection and commerce, has also opened the door to sophisticated fraud schemes targeting vulnerable individuals. The psychological toll can be as severe as the financial loss, as victims find themselves betrayed by those they believed to be genuine connections.
The criminals’ methods were as varied as they were insidious. In Ghana, scammers extracted payments using fake courier and customs shipment fees, and even secretly recorded intimate videos during explicit chats to later blackmail their victims. According to the BBC, authorities in Ghana identified 108 victims during the operation. In Senegal, 22 suspects were arrested for running celebrity impersonation scams that defrauded 120 victims out of approximately $34,000. Police there seized 65 devices and a trove of forged identification documents and money transfer records.
Côte d’Ivoire, meanwhile, faced a staggering 809 victims in a sextortion network that was dismantled with the arrest of 24 suspects and the seizure of 29 devices. Scammers there used fake online profiles to blackmail individuals, demanding payments in exchange for not releasing compromising material. Angola’s police arrested eight suspects who had targeted 28 domestic and international victims, primarily through social media, using fraudulent documents to create fake identities and facilitate illicit financial transactions.
Operation Contender 3.0 was not merely about arrests and seizures. It was a demonstration of the growing importance of cross-border cooperation in the fight against cybercrime. The operation’s success was bolstered by collaboration with private sector partners, notably Group-IB and Trend Micro, which provided critical data sharing and operational support. The High Street Journal highlights that authorities used IP addresses, social media profiles, and digital networks to track suspects, while the exchange of INTERPOL cyber activity reports enabled swift enforcement actions.
“Cyber-crime units across Africa are reporting a sharp rise in digital-enabled crimes such as sextortion and romance scams,” Cyril Gout, Interpol’s acting executive director of police services, told the BBC. He emphasized that the growth of online platforms had “opened new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit victims, causing both financial loss and psychological harm.”
Interpol’s June 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report underscored the urgency of the issue, revealing that two-thirds of surveyed African member countries said cyber-related offences now make up a medium-to-high proportion of all crimes. The sophistication of these schemes is increasing, making them harder to detect and disrupt without international collaboration. As Gazeta Expresso reported, the case “reinforces the urgency of fighting cybercrime with transnational actions, especially given the growing sophistication of cyber fraud on the African continent.”
The operation also exposed the diversity of tactics employed by cybercriminals. In some cases, perpetrators impersonated celebrities to manipulate victims emotionally and financially. In others, they used fake courier services or customs fees to extract money. Sextortion schemes often involved the secret recording of explicit conversations, which were then used as leverage for blackmail. The criminals’ ability to forge documents and create convincing digital personas made it difficult for victims to discern the truth until it was too late.
The collaborative nature of Operation Contender 3.0 stands out as a model for future efforts. Participating countries included Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. The operation dismantled 81 cybercrime infrastructures across the continent, taking down digital networks and domains linked to the scam syndicates. This level of coordination, involving both public law enforcement and private sector cyber experts, is being hailed as a significant step forward in the battle against transnational cybercrime.
Despite these successes, authorities caution that the fight is far from over. The rapid evolution of digital technology means that cybercriminals are constantly adapting their methods. As more Africans gain access to the internet and digital financial services, the pool of potential victims grows. Law enforcement agencies are calling for stronger cybersecurity measures, increased public awareness, and ongoing international cooperation to stay ahead of the threat.
“We are committed to dismantling criminal groups that exploit vulnerable individuals online,” Cyril Gout declared, reiterating Interpol’s determination to protect citizens from digital predators. The operation, he said, serves as both a warning to would-be scammers and a beacon of hope for victims who too often suffer in silence.
Operation Contender 3.0 may have dealt a significant blow to cybercriminal networks in Africa, but the underlying issues that enable such crimes—ranging from technological gaps to social vulnerabilities—remain. For now, though, the message from authorities is clear: the digital underworld is not beyond the reach of justice.
