Six Nigerian nationals linked to an organised criminal network that allegedly swindled American women out of over US$6 million (NZ$10 million) through online romance scams will be extradited to the United States on Friday, South African police said.
The men, who were arrested in the South African city of Cape Town in 2021, are set to be handed over to officials from the FBI on Friday and transported to the US to face wire fraud and money laundering charges.
They are accused of belonging to a criminal network known as the Black Axe, which Interpol describes as being part of criminal groups responsible for a significant share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud, typically through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams.
According to South African police, the men are alleged to have targeted more than 100 women in the US, defrauding them of more than US$6 million through online romance or love scams.
Among the alleged victims were pensioners and businesspeople who were reportedly targeted through sophisticated online relationships.
“Through the coordination of Interpol South Africa, the six will today be transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport, where they will be handed over to officials from the FBI and the United States Secret Service, who arrived in South Africa this morning,” said police spokesperson Katlego Mogale
A recent operation by Interpol targeting West African organised crime groups led to the arrest of 58 people and the identification of 263 suspects linked to various criminal networks involved in similar crimes, the multinational police body said last month.
The operation aimed to disrupt money laundering, identify high-value targets, seize assets and support arrests and prosecution.
In South Africa, authorities raided seven locations in the city of Johannesburg linked to a syndicate that ran romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries.
In that operation in South Africa, police arrested 39 people, seized US$2.67 million (NZ$4.5 million) and froze more than 250 bank accounts, Interpol said.
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