INTERPOL-led operation Red Card leads to 306 arrests in major cybercrime crackdown

In a coordinated international effort to combat cybercrime, law enforcement authorities across Africa have arrested 306 suspects as part of ’Operation Red Card,’ an INTERPOL-led initiative targeting cross-border cybercriminal networks. The operation, which took place between November 2024 and February 2025, resulted in the seizure of 1,842 electronic devices allegedly used in fraudulent activities related to mobile banking, investment, and messaging app scams. These scams have been linked to over 5,000 victims.

Prior to the operation, participating countries shared criminal intelligence on key targets. INTERPOL enhanced this intelligence with insights on criminal methodologies, leveraging data from private sector partners, including Group-IB, Kaspersky, and Trend Micro. The seven nations involved in the operation were Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Togo, and Zambia.

A significant aspect of the crackdown occurred in Nigeria, where authorities detained 130 individuals, including 113 foreign nationals, suspected of being involved in investment fraud and online casino scams. Investigators revealed that the suspects concealed their illicit earnings in digital assets and were recruited from multiple countries, operating in various languages. Some individuals working in these scam centers are believed to be victims of human trafficking, further complicating the criminal landscape.

Meanwhile, in Zambia, police apprehended 14 suspects who were allegedly part of a cybercrime gang engaged in hacking victims’ phones through malicious links containing malware. This tactic allowed them to take control of messaging accounts and access banking applications, which they used to spread scams through compromised devices.

South African authorities also made substantial progress, arresting 40 suspects and seizing more than 53 computers and over 1,000 SIM cards linked to a SIM box fraud operation. The scheme involved rerouting international calls as local ones, facilitating extensive SMS phishing attacks that defrauded unsuspecting victims.

Rwanda was another focal point of the operation, where police detained 45 individuals linked to a sophisticated social engineering scam network. These criminals defrauded victims of over USD 305,000 in 2024 by impersonating telecom staff and pretending to be injured relatives in urgent need of financial assistance.

Neal Jetton, INTERPOL’s Director of the Cybercrime Directorate, emphasized the significance of the operation, stating, "The success of Operation Red Card demonstrates the power of international cooperation in combating cybercrime, which knows no borders and can have devastating effects on individuals and communities. The recovery of significant assets and devices, as well as the arrest of key suspects, sends a strong message to cybercriminals that their activities will not go unpunished."

This latest operation is part of a broader effort by INTERPOL to tackle cybercrime across Africa. Recent initiatives include ’Operation Serengeti,’ conducted between September 2 and October 31, which resulted in the arrest of 1,006 suspects linked to ransomware, digital extortion, business email compromise (BEC), and various online scams. Additionally, ’Operation Africa Cyber Surge II,’ launched in April 2023, led to the disruption of over 20,000 cybercrime networks engaged in extortion, phishing, BEC, and online scams, collectively responsible for financial losses exceeding $40 million.