The Department of Justice in Washington on March 10, 2025.Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
Authorities in Ghana and Nigeria arrested 28 people last week during coordinated raids on suspected scam operations, seizing hundreds of electronic devices and identifying more than 100 people described as trafficking victims, American and British officials said Tuesday.
The actions formed part of a multi-country effort that included support from U.S. law enforcement agencies.
In Ghana’s Accra suburb of Sasaabi, authorities arrested 19 individuals and seized 303 electronic devices, according to the Department of Justice. Officials identified 117 victims of human trafficking who are now pending repatriation to Nigeria. Authorities also identified 89 scam victims who lost an estimated $8.3 million. In Nigeria, authorities arrested nine individuals and seized 53 electronic devices.
The Ghana
operationwas led by the Ghana Cyber Security Authority, the Ghana Police Service Criminal Investigation Department, and the National Security Service with support from the UK’s National Crime Agency, the FBI, and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The broader effort, hosted by the National Crime Agency in London during the week of Oct. 6, brought together agencies from Australia, Canada, Ghana, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States, along with INTERPOL. Participants described it as the first coordinated action focused specifically on scam networks operating from West Africa.
Disrupted schemes included law enforcement impersonation scams, digital “arrest” extortion, and cryptocurrency investment fraud. Investigators identified more than $11 million in potentially freezable funds tied to the networks. Private industry partners also reported removing large numbers of fraudulent social media accounts, pages, and groups targeting people in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, and shared leads on more than 30 suspected scam centers.
FBI Director Kash Patel said last week that a related raid in Ghana led to more than 130 people being arrested or detained. He said the FBI’s Operation Blackout identified nearly $10 million in losses, identified 89 victims, and resulted in the seizure of more than 300 devices. The arrest figure includes victims who will be sent back to their home countries, according to Patel’s X post. The investigation is ongoing, he said.
Scam operations in West Africa have drawn increased attention from law enforcement as authorities track networks that target victims with online fraud. Many of the schemes rely on sustained contact through dating apps, social media, or unsolicited messages, gradually building trust before directing victims toward fake investment platforms or other fraudulent transfers. Officials have noted that the compounds identified in West Africa share operational features with larger scam centers previously documented in Southeast Asia, where workers are often trafficked and forced to conduct the scams under coercive conditions.
The Department of Justice said the West African actions are part of ongoing efforts to disrupt scam networks at their source. Local authorities in Ghana and Nigeria carried out the physical raids and made the arrests, with U.S. and UK agencies providing investigative support and intelligence. Officials have not publicly detailed the specific charges the arrested individuals may face or the timeline for any potential extradition proceedings.
The scam centers operating in West Africa mirror those uncovered in Southeast Asia, according to the DOJ statement. A March operation between tech giant Meta and the DOJ resulted in the disabling of 150,000 scam accounts. The Royal Thai Police also arrested 21 individuals as part of the effort.
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