A law enforcement operation across Africa culminated this summer in one of the most ambitious cybercrime crackdowns to date, netting over a thousand arrests, dismantling illicit cyber infrastructures, and recovering millions of dollars, in a concerted effort to counter the surging dangers of digital crime on the continent.
Coordinated Response to Escalating Threat
As digital threats intensified in 2025, authorities in Nigeria and 17 other African countries joined with international partners for Operation Serengeti 2.0, a large-scale crackdown aimed at disrupting a wide spectrum of cybercrimes. The operation, led by a global policing organization and supported by a network of law enforcement agencies from 36 nations, targeted the most damaging forms of digital fraud, including ransomware, business email compromise, and large-scale investment scams.
Anchored by months of investigative preparation, the effort focused not only on reactionary enforcement but also on strengthening the continent’s capacity to prevent and detect future offenses.
Scale of Crime and Scope of Enforcement
Between June and August, coordinated actions dismantled over 11,400 malicious cyber infrastructures, from command-and-control servers to fraudulent domains, and led to 1,209 arrests across participating countries. In Angola, authorities closed 25 illegal cryptocurrency mining centers and detained 60 foreign nationals accused of blockchain fraud, highlighting the international dimension of the offenses.
Throughout the operation, the value of recovered assets and infrastructure was staggering: more than $97 million ( ₹8,30 Crores approx.) was reclaimed from criminal networks, and unauthorized equipment valued at $37 million was seized for repurposing toward public benefit.
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Fraud Schemes and Human Impact
The enforcement revealed the deeply personal toll of digital crime. Zambian authorities dismantled an online investment scam that defrauded an estimated 65,000 victims of around $300 million( ₹2,594 Crores approx.), using aggressive digital advertising to lure participants into downloading fraudulent apps.
Investigators seized domains, financial accounts, and mobile devices in wide-ranging raids. In another operation, officials uncovered a human trafficking network connected to scam centers and confiscated hundreds of forged passports. Officers in Côte d’Ivoire disrupted a transnational inheritance fraud that impacted victims across continents and resulted in further seizures of cash, valuables, and digital records.
Training, Cooperation, and the Road Ahead
Success in this campaign stemmed from a foundation laid in international cooperation, technical training, and intelligence sharing. Ahead of the operation, investigators underwent specialized workshops in cryptocurrency tracing, open-source intelligence, and ransomware analysis. The collaboration’s breadth, binding agencies from Africa, Europe, and beyond, was key to tackling cyber threats that easily cross national borders. As new crime patterns emerge, officials are betting on continued joint efforts and deeper integration to protect vulnerable communities from the shifting landscape of global cybercrime.