Two Held in Nigeria as INTERPOL Cracks Down on Cybercrime Networks
By: Abudu Olalekan
Two arrests. Two separate cases.
And in one of them, investigators are talking about more than $2.4 million moving around as suspected criminal proceeds.
INTERPOL says two suspects have been arrested in Nigeria as part of different cybercrime investigations, including an international investment fraud scheme and a large-scale phishing operation.
The arrests were announced in a statement on Operation Serengeti III, a major international enforcement exercise that ran from June 29 to August 31, 2026. Law enforcement agencies from 21 countries took part.
According to the statement published on INTERPOL’s website, the first suspect arrested by Nigerian authorities was linked to phishing and business email compromise. Investigators say the operation harvested software credentials and had amassed about 2.1 million email addresses.
That is a huge haul.
A luxury vehicle, suspected to have been bought with proceeds from the crime, was also recovered during the investigation.
The second case was different. Another suspect was arrested over an international investment fraud allegedly promoted through messaging applications. Financial investigators linked the scheme to more than $2.4m in suspected criminal proceeds, much of which were allegedly laundered through cryptocurrency transactions.
The names of the two suspects was not disclosed in the statement.
Operation Serengeti III was not just about Nigeria, though. It targeted cyber-enabled fraud, ransomware, business email compromise, online scams and digital extortion across several countries.
By the end of it, 1,462 suspects had been arrested. Authorities also disrupted 10,909 malicious networks and recovered over $105m in illicit funds.
The numbers tell a bigger story. Investigators identified 65,929 victims targeted by these criminal networks, with losses linked to the activities put at more than $385m.
Private-sector partners also supported the operation, providing intelligence, technical analysis and operational expertise. Basically, they helped investigators find the suspects, map how the networks worked and push the cases forward.
INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime, Neal Jetton, said criminals are now using technology to go after victims far beyond their own borders.
“Operation Serengeti III reinforces a clear message: while cybercrime is increasingly borderless, international cooperation remains one of the most effective tools for disrupting criminal networks, recovering criminal assets and protecting communities from digital harm,” he said.
The work is not finished yet. INTERPOL said several investigations from the operation are still active, with authorities working to identify more suspects, trace illicit money and analyse digital evidence already seized.
Apart from Nigeria, the other participating countries were Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, the United States, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Olalekan A. Abudu is a seasoned and dedicated News Journalist at REPORTERS ROOM, with over eight years of experience. He specializes in politics, climate change, health, and education, while also covering security, economic, and judicial issues. Committed to accuracy and balanced reporting, Olalekan exemplifies the principles of public-interest journalism.