Over 70 suspected members of Black Axe cybercrime syndicate have been arrested by INTERPOL, according to BleepingComputer.
INTERPOL enforced Operation Jackal that led to the arrest of the suspected members. Operation Jackal is a joint international law enforcement operation from September 26 till 30, 2022, in South Africa.
Operation Jackal Successfully Leads to the Arrest of Black Axe Members
Fourteen countries mobilized the Operation Jackal across four continents, according to INTERPOL. It targeted Black Axe and other related West-African organized crime groups.
The operation enforced is said to be the first time INTERPOL has staged a global operation to target Black Axe. The said cybercrime syndicate is already a major security threat worldwide.
The crime syndicate Black Axe was established in 1977 in Nigeria. Since it was founded, it has become one of the world's most far-reaching and dangerous crime syndicates.
In the 2015, reports said that Black Axe first became involved with cybercrime. The group is suspected to be behind the numerous romance and "419 scams."
"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," reads INTERPOL's statement in its website.
The evidence analyzed by INTERPOL's Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre (IFCACC) and national law enforcement pointed to Black Axe as the one being responsible in the world's cyber-enabled financial fraud.
According to INTERPOL, two of the 70 members arrested were wanted for online scams that scammed $1.8 million from victims. This is just in South Africa.
Statement from INTERPOL stated that the operation resulted to €1.2 million intercepted in bank accounts, 75 arrests, and 49 property searches.
Moreover, Operation Jackal yielded seven INTERPOL Purple Notices, detailing criminal modus operandi, and six INTERPOL Red Notices, issued for internationally-wanted fugitives.
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Black Axe Situation Demands a Global Response
According to Stephen Kavanagh, Executive Director of Police Services, INTERPOL, the situation regarding Black Axe already demands a global response.
"Illicit financial funds are the lifeblood of transnational organized crime, and we have witnessed how groups like Black Axe will channel money gained from online financial scams into other crime areas, such as drugs and human trafficking," said Kavanagh.
INTERPOL seized immense quantity of assets, including a residential property, three cars and tens of thousands in cash. About 12,000 SIM cards were also seized during the arrest.
The seized assets have provided new investigative leads eventually generating 13 analytical reports. This allowed the authority to identify more than 70 additional suspects.
As part of Operation Jackal, Interpol employed its new anti-money laundering rapid response protocol mechanism (ARRP) for the first time, and this proves to successful in intercepting illegal proceeds of crime.
"The ARRP is a game-changer in the fight against global financial crime, where speed and international cooperation are crucial to intercepting illicit funds before they disappear into the pockets of money mules abroad," said Rory Corcoran, Director of IFCACC.
The remarkable effectiveness of INTERPOL's Global Financial Crime Task Force was observed in disrupting illicit financial flows.
The move of INTERPOL brought together a number cyber and finance experts across sectors. These experts worked to track and cut off criminal money trails.
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