Operation Sentinel: Interpol Arrests 574 in Sweeping African Cybercrime Bust
A coordinated cybercrime crackdown across Africa has culminated in hundreds of arrests and the seizure of millions of dollars. As part of a sweeping international investigation, authorities not only detained hundreds of suspects but also averted substantial financial losses tied to online fraud.
Operation Sentinel, carried out from October 27 to November 27 under Interpol’s coordination, spanned 19 countries and targeted three major categories of digital crime: business email compromise, digital extortion, and ransomware attacks.
According to the Africa Cyberthreat Assessment 2025, these schemes rank among the fastest-growing threats in the region. Over the course of the operation, more than 6,000 malicious links were taken down, six ransomware variants were decrypted, and financial damages linked to the investigated cases were estimated at over $21 million.
In Senegal, authorities prevented the theft of nearly $8 million after an oil company detected an intrusion attempt into its internal email system. Fraudsters, impersonating senior executives, sought to authorize a large transfer, but emergency account freezes stopped the scheme before it could be completed.
In Ghana, a financial institution fell victim to a ransomware attack that encrypted roughly 100 terabytes of data and siphoned off more than $100,000. Following malware analysis, investigators developed a recovery tool that enabled the restoration of a significant portion of the compromised data.
The same operation dismantled an online fraud network operating out of Ghana and Nigeria. The perpetrators set up counterfeit websites mimicking well-known restaurant chains, accepted payments for fictitious orders, and defrauded more than 200 victims. Ten suspects were arrested, over one hundred digital devices were seized, and 30 servers were taken offline.
In Benin, authorities blocked 43 malicious domains and more than 4,000 social media accounts linked to extortion and fraud, leading to 106 arrests. In Cameroon, police swiftly responded to complaints about a phishing scheme disguised as an online car marketplace and managed to freeze transfers to suspicious accounts before funds were lost.
Private-sector partners played a crucial role in the operation, providing technical expertise and tools to track network activity, identify IP addresses, and block illicit transactions. Support came from Team Cymru, the Shadowserver Foundation, Trend Micro, TRM Labs, and Uppsala Security. The effort was conducted under the African Joint Operation Against Cybercrime, with financial backing from the United Kingdom and the participation of the Council of Europe and the European Union.
Interpol assesses that in most African countries, the level of digital crime has already reached medium to high intensity. Attacks are increasing in scale, particularly in critical sectors such as energy and finance. Nevertheless, the coordinated response by local law enforcement and international partners has demonstrated that timely action can significantly mitigate risks and safeguard access to vital information.
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