Interpol launches ‘major strike’ against Nigeria’s Black Axe mafia

Police forces from around the world have come together in a series of covert operations targeting one of West Africa’s most feared criminal networks, the Black Axe.

In Operation Jackal III, police wearing bulletproof vests carried out raids in 21 countries between April and July 2024.

The operation, coordinated by global police agency Interpol, resulted in the arrest of 300 people linked to Black Axe and other affiliated groups.

Interpol called the operation a “significant blow” to the Nigerian criminal network but warned that its international reach and technological sophistication meant it remained a global threat.

In one notorious example, Canadian authorities said they uncovered a money laundering scheme linked to Black Axe in 2017 that involved more than $5bn (£3.8bn).

“Their operations were very organised and methodical,” Tomonobu Kaya, a senior official at Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, told the BBC.

According to a 2022 Interpol report, “Black Axe and similar groups are responsible for the majority of cyber-based financial fraud worldwide, as well as many other serious crimes.”

Kaya said innovations in money-transfer software and cryptocurrencies played into the hands of the criminal gang, which is known for committing multimillion-dollar online frauds.

“These criminal groups are early adopters of new technologies … many fintech developments make it very easy to illegally move money around the world,” he said.

Operation Jackal III lasted for many years, seizing a total of $3 million in illegal assets and freezing more than 700 bank accounts.

Many Black Axe members are college educated and were recruited while still in school.

The organization is a secretive criminal network that engages in human trafficking, prostitution and killings around the world.

Cybercrime targeting individuals and businesses is the group’s largest source of revenue.

Since 2022, there have been several so-called “jackal” police operations.

Dozens of Black Axe and other gang members have been arrested and their electronic devices seized during these cross-border raids, an effort that has enabled Interpol to create a massive intelligence database that is now shared with officials from its 196 member countries.

“We need to get data and collate findings from these countries to help understand their modus operandi,” Mr Kaya said.

Despite the international arrests of several criminal gang members, some experts believe that not enough is being done to address the root causes of criminal gangs in West Africa.

“Our focus must be on prevention rather than direct action against these criminal groups,” said Dr. Oluwole Ojewale, West Africa regional coordinator for the Institute for Security Studies.

Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest economies, has been the scene of massive anti-corruption protests in recent weeks. As many as 87 million people live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank. Nigeria is also a major recruiting ground for Black Axe.

Interpol said it was working with key Nigerian stakeholders and police officials on training, but corruption and allegations of collusion between the Black Axe and local authorities remained major obstacles.

“It is actually the politicians who are arming these boys,” Dr. Ojewale said. “The general failure of governance in the country is putting pressure on people to join (Black Axe).”

Although Interpol’s Operation Jackal now has global coverage, it originated in Ireland.

In 2020, Ireland’s National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) carried out a series of police raids that resulted in the arrest of a small number of Black Axe members, paving the way for the uncovering of the wider network.

“They were operating very covertly, very low profile,” said Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the GNECB, who led the operation.

He added: “The amount of money laundered through Ireland is astronomical.”

Police subsequently identified 1,000 people in Ireland with links to Black Axe and arrested hundreds of suspects in connection with fraud and cyber crime.

Detective Superintendent Crane said: “Bank robberies are now being carried out using laptops and are much more sophisticated.”

He estimates that €200m ($220m; £170m) has been stolen online in Ireland over the past five years, and that this accounts for only 20% of reported cybercrime.

“This is not a typical or run-of-the-mill crime … the people making the decision need to know how serious this is,” he said.

Irish police operations in November 2023 showed that cryptocurrencies, which can be sent quickly between digital wallets around the world, are becoming an integral part of Black Axe’s money laundering operations.

In one operation, a total of more than 1 million euros in crypto assets were seized.

Interpol has deployed its own technology to respond to these innovations and launched the Global Rapid Intervention Payment system (I-GRIP).

The mechanism, which enables member state authorities to freeze bank accounts around the world with unprecedented speed, was used last month to thwart a $40 million fraud targeting Singapore businesses.

Interpol representative Kaya said such technology would make it more difficult for criminals to move money with impunity.

Police around the world are working hard to collect and share intelligence on the Black Axe and other West African criminal groups.

“If we can collect this data, we can take action,” he said.