Operation Jackal III was a campaign that took place from April to July of 2024 and resulted in the arrest of more than 300 people who were connected to Black Axe and its associates.
This operation highlights the ongoing threat posed by the Nigerian crime syndicate on a global scale and represents an important win in the battle against transnational crime.
Law enforcement agencies from 21 nations, working under Interpol's coordination, have carried out a number of covert missions with the goal of breaking up Black Axe, one of West Africa's most infamous criminal networks, in an unprecedented effort to battle global organized crime.
The Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre of Interpol oversaw Operation Jackal III, which targeted sophisticated cyber-enabled financial fraud and other major criminal operations.
Over 700 bank accounts connected to the conspiracy were frozen and $3 million in illicit assets were taken by the authorities throughout the operation.
These acts exposed the vast network of links and technological infrastructure that supported Black Axe’s operations, in addition to upsetting the group’s financial operations.
Black Axe, a formidable global crime syndicate that began as a Nigerian university cult, has expanded its influence globally to include five continents, an indication of the operation’s global reach.
Black Axe is now a billion-dollar mafia that engages in violent crimes, drug smuggling, human trafficking, cybercrime, and other criminal activities.
Its fraudulent activities, which frequently involve cryptocurrencies and other contemporary financial technologies, can reach multi-million dollar scales.
The operations of Black Axe can be identified by their expertise and reliance on cutting-edge technology. The syndicate has been implicated in well-known cybercrime schemes that take advantage of weaknesses in international banking systems.
For example, in a well-known case from 2017, Canadian investigators uncovered a $5 billion money-laundering network associated with Black Axe.
These incidents demonstrate the syndicate’s capacity for large-scale operations and its flair for using technology breakthroughs for illicit purposes.
Senior official at Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Center Tomonobu Kaya highlighted the technological capabilities of these criminal groups.
“They are highly structured and organized,” Kaya remarked, noting that the group’s deft use of cryptocurrency has made it easier to move money across borders quickly and covertly.
The emergence of digital currencies has given Black Axe the ability to effectively launder money, presenting serious obstacles to established financial oversight and regulation frameworks.
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But even with these successes of operation jackal, Interpol has issued a warning, Black Axe is still a serious threat as Its global network of operations and ability to attract highly educated people, frequently while they are still in college.
Since 2022, several “Operation Jackal” have been conducted, resulting in several arrests and the confiscation of electronic equipment that is essential to the creation of an extensive intelligence database.
Financial crimes have been prevented and illicit assets have been frozen thanks in large part to Interpol’s new Global Rapid Intervention of Payments (GRIP) system.
The use of this technology highlights the value of technical innovation in law enforcement and the necessity of international collaboration to adjust to the changing nature of crime.
Nigerians have negatively to the actions of this crime syndicate rejecting the national shame brought to the great Nigerian name.