58 arrested in international cybercrime crackdown

Law enforcement agencies in 22 countries coordinated on an eight-month cybercrime operation that saw 58 people arrested and hundreds of suspects identified. 

Interpol announced the results of the latest leg of Operation Jackal — a years-long effort to disrupt cybercriminal organizations across dozens of countries. 

The most recent law enforcement actions took place in Italy, Argentina, South Africa and Romania.

Interpol officials said it uncovered a crime-as-a-service network in Argentina run by 196 people that provided website domains and money laundering support to West African organized crime groups like Black Axe — a cybercrime gang international law enforcement agencies have sought to dismantle for more than five years. Seventeen people in Argentina were arrested.

Tomonobu Kaya, a director at Interpol, said they were able to follow illicit financial flows across borders that led them to “the very lifeblood of organized crime.”

Interpol said groups like Black Axe and others are responsible for “a significant share of the world's cyber-enabled financial fraud, typically through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams or business email compromise fraud, as well as other serious and violent crimes.”

Operation Jackal IV ran from November 2025 to June 2026 and saw Interpol disrupt money laundering networks, identify high-value targets, seize assets and support local arrests. 

Law enforcement in South Africa raided seven locations in Johannesburg linked to a group that conducted romance and investment scams targeting the elderly in English-speaking countries. The raids led to 39 arrests and the seizure of about $2.7 million. 

Eleven people were arrested in Romania on accusations that they were also running a cryptocurrency investment scam operation through a call center. Investigators discovered $166 million in stolen and laundered funds held in electronic wallets controlled by the Romanian operation. 

Investigators in the country seized about $379,000 as well as multiple properties and luxury watches. 

In addition to the arrests, one money launderer in Italy was identified for his use of shell companies, remittance services and cash withdrawals.

Interpol noted that beyond the arrests and seizures, the operation uncovered several alarming cybercriminal trends, including the rise of sextortion tactics used to target minors as young as 14. 

Groups contact children on social media or gaming platforms, building their trust and urging them to share intimate photographs of themselves before threatening to release them if a ransom is not paid. 

U.S. and international law enforcement agencies have been targeting Black Axe and other cybercrime syndicates since 2021 for their role in romance scams and more. In 2024, more than 300 people across West Africa, Argentina and other regions were arrested as part of the third leg of Interpol’s Operation Jackal.

Swiss and German law enforcement arrested 10 suspected members of Black Axe in April during raids in both countries.