The multinational Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) says it has dismantled a sophisticated multinational scam network, with some of its key masterminds having operated from Namibia.
Operation First Light, which targeted phishing, investment fraud, bogus online shopping sites, romance fraud, and impersonation frauds worldwide, busted the suspected network operating from Namibia’s capital, Windhoek, confiscating 163 computers and 350 mobile phones.
Business Express understands that the INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France, has received the data from these devices for analysis.
While key successes of the operation are recorded in Namibia, the operation extended to 61 countries, with authorities apprehending 3 950 people worldwide and identifying 14 643 additional suspected suspects.
Globally, the operation froze 6,745 bank accounts, confiscating assets worth about N$4.6 billion, a report by INTERPOL highlights.
These assets included fiat currency, cryptocurrency, real estate, high-end vehicles, expensive jewellery, and many other high-value items and collections.
On request, INTERPOL’s General Secretariat headquarters dispatched specialised officials to Namibia and other countries to assist local police in coordinating their country’s leg of the global operation.
“The results of this global police operation are more than just numbers—they represent lives protected, crimes prevented, and a healthier global economy worldwide. By confiscating such large amounts of money and disrupting the networks behind them, we not only safeguard our communities but also deal a significant blow to the transnational organised crime groups that pose such a serious threat to global security,” stated Isaac Kehinde Oginni, Director of INTERPOL’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre.
THE NAMIBIAN RAID
The initial breakthrough in the Namibian cybercrime ring was made last year when it was reported that the police raided six houses in the Auasblick, Kleine Kuppe, and Klein Windhoek areas of Windhoek and offices in the Shapumba Towers building in the city as part of a sting operation to burst the cyber criminals.
88 local youths were reportedly forced to commit scams by a syndicate of Namibian and Chinese nationals accused of defrauding Americans and Europeans.
Local daily, The Namibian then reported that at least 50 of a group of young Namibians arrested agreed to cooperate with the Namibian Police in a human trafficking investigation.
The Namibian Police’s deputy inspector general for operations, Elias Mutota, said at a media briefing at the time that 50 students are among 88 young Namibians who were enticed with offers of marketing jobs but ended up being trafficked in Windhoek.
“Young Namibian males and females, mostly students, were recruited by the suspected foreign nationals and trained to create false profiles on Facebook and Instagram so as to lure unsuspecting United States of America citizens into a scheme that started with building trust with the victims and ultimately introducing them to cryptocurrency investments that would show quick profits and gains, enticing them to invest more,” Mutota explained at a media briefing in the capital at the time.
It was also reported that Namibian Police Forensic Science Institute head Nelius Becker said the investment scam in which the arrested suspects were alleged to have been involved is known as a “pig butchering” cryptocurrency investment scheme, a reference to the fattening of a pig before it is slaughtered.
At the time, fourteen people, including 10 Chinese nationals, were arrested on 203 charges in total.
The charges included 98 counts of trafficking in persons, 98 charges of using the services of victims of trafficking, one count of fraud involving an amount of US$465 405 (about N$9 million), and charges of money laundering, racketeering, and failing to pay tax.
Namibia is expected to pass the Cyber Crime Bill, the Data Protection Bill, and the National Cyber Security Strategy this year in response to online scams.
FIRST LIGHT
Operation First Light 2024 commenced in 2023 and culminated in its final tactical phase from March to May 2024. The operation was strengthened by the participation of four regional policing bodies: AFRIPOL, ASEANAPOL, GCCPOL, and Europol.
First Light operations are funded by China’s Ministry of Public Security, which recently hosted the concluding meeting in Tianjin, bringing participating countries together under one roof to analyse results, share intelligence, and plan future operations.
INTERPOL has been coordinating First Light operations since 2014 to bolster cooperation and intensify efforts by member countries to fight social engineering and telecom fraud.