US Department of Justice shares latest details of Sasaabi cybercrime raid

The United States Department of Justice has confirmed the arrest of 19 people and the seizure of 303 electronic devices during a cybercrime enforcement operation in Sasaabi, a suburb of Accra, as part of an international crackdown on online scam networks operating in West Africa.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, the department said the operation, dubbed “Joint Disruption Week”, resulted in dozens of arrests, the removal of more than 3.7 million fraudulent social media accounts and the rescue of more than 100 victims of human trafficking.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the operation marked an important step in efforts to dismantle online fraud networks and bring perpetrators to justice.

"The millions of bogus social media accounts taken down and dozens of arrests that took place as part of Joint Disruption Week are just the beginning," he said.

"I am especially grateful to the courageous law enforcement officers in Ghana and Nigeria who put themselves in harm's way to seize evidence and arrest the criminals who prey on innocent people."

According to the department, Ghanaian authorities identified 117 victims of human trafficking who are awaiting repatriation to Nigeria. A further 89 victims of online scams were identified, with their estimated financial losses put at US$8.3 million.

During the last week of September, authorities conducted operations at six locations, making scores of arrests, identifying 34 trafficking victims and seizing 129 electronic devices.

The Ghana operation was led by the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), the Ghana Police Service’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the National Security Service, with support from the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In Nigeria, authorities arrested nine people and seized 53 electronic devices during the enforcement period.

International agencies and technology firms collaborate

The operation brought together several international law enforcement agencies, including the US Department of Justice, the Scam Center Strike Force under the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI, the US Secret Service, the US Department of the Treasury, Homeland Security Investigations and the Homeland Security Task Force.

Other participating institutions included the UK’s National Crime Agency, Nigeria’s Joint Case Team on Cybercrimes, the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center and Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority.

Law enforcement agencies from Australia, Canada, Ghana, India, New Zealand and Nigeria also participated, alongside INTERPOL and other cybercrime units.

Several technology companies, including Meta, Adobe, Binance, Coinbase, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Starlink and TRM Labs, supported the operation by working with law enforcement and voluntarily taking action against fraudulent activities on their platforms and networks.

The US Justice Department said the companies collectively removed more than 3.7 million accounts, pages and groups used to target victims in the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries.

The companies also provided leads on more than 30 suspected scam centres, contributing to arrests, the rescue of trafficking victims and cryptocurrency seizures.

Private-sector partners identified more than US$11 million in funds that could potentially be frozen.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the operation had led to the arrest of dozens of suspected criminals, the seizure of hundreds of electronic devices and the identification of at least US$11 million in potentially freezable funds.

"We are demolishing Scam Centers across the globe and crushing a criminal industry preying on American citizens," he said.

Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of Fraud at the UK’s National Crime Agency, said tackling fraud required cooperation across national borders.

"Collaborating in this way sends a clear signal to criminals that the combined capabilities of law enforcement and industry means that we will relentlessly pursue them and the infrastructure they rely on no matter where they operate," he said.

Global online investment fraud causes billions in losses

The US Justice Department cited figures from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center showing that investment scams were reported 72,984 times in 2025, with cryptocurrency investment fraud accounting for 72 per cent of the category.

Reported losses from investment scams increased from US$3.96 billion in 2023 to US$5.8 billion in 2024.

Losses from investment scams involving cryptocurrency rose by 24 per cent in 2025, exceeding US$7.2 billion.

The department also referenced a government report estimating that the annual value of funds stolen by scam syndicates worldwide approached US$64 billion by the end of 2023.

It said scam centres operating in West Africa shared characteristics with those uncovered in Southeast Asia, describing them as organised criminal enterprises that recruit workers, train them in social engineering and deploy coordinated fraud campaigns against victims around the world.

The schemes targeted by the operation included law enforcement impersonation, digital arrest extortion, cryptocurrency investment fraud commonly known as “pig butchering”, and other forms of online deception.

Ghana repatriates 120 trafficked Nigerians

Separately, the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Samuel Nartey George, has thanked the Ghana Air Force and the Ministry of Defence for facilitating the repatriation of 120 Nigerian nationals arrested during the operation.

In a post on X on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, Mr George said the operation was led by the Cyber Security Authority in collaboration with local intelligence and security agencies, as well as counterparts in the United Kingdom, Nigeria and the United States.

He said the operation led to the rescue of 120 Nigerian nationals who had allegedly been trafficked to Ghana and forced to work in cybercrime operations.

"The operation seized 136 mobile phones, 130 laptops, internet connection devices, four motor vehicles, one of which was stolen from Canada, and other digital equipment. The search team also recovered high-value items, including jewellery and ten Nigerian passports," he said.

Mr George added that authorities were processing eight other individuals for prosecution.

He stressed that Ghana, under President John Dramani Mahama, would not provide a safe haven for cybercriminals.