U.S. and U.K. agencies report 28 arrests and 3.7 million accounts removed in West Africa scam-center operation

Analysis

Officials describe West African scam centers as resembling the organized, labor-heavy operations previously uncovered in Southeast Asia, including people held against their will. The announcement is about one week of coordinated action, and its totals are self-reported, so what happens next in court and with the frozen funds will show how lasting the effect is.

What officials announced

On October 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice announced results from a "Joint Disruption Week" targeting online scam networks in West Africa. The effort, in the week beginning October 6, was hosted in London by the U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA) and, according to the NCA, involved 15 agencies and 15 companies, with more than 100 people from law enforcement and industry attending. The Justice Department called it the first coordinated effort focused specifically on West Africa. [1][2]

The Justice Department said the scams included impersonation of law enforcement, cryptocurrency investment fraud sometimes called "pig butchering" (long conversations that build trust before a victim is pushed to invest), and other online fraud. The NCA said its focus was fraudsters in Ghana and Nigeria who use social media profiles for investment and impersonation fraud. [1][2]

Arrests and trafficking victims

The Justice Department reported 28 arrests in total; the NCA said "almost 30" suspected scammers were arrested, mainly in Ghana and Nigeria. In Sasaabi, a suburb of Ghana's capital Accra, 19 people were arrested and 303 electronic devices seized, and 117 people were identified as trafficking victims awaiting return to Nigeria. Nigerian authorities made nine arrests, with the NCA placing them in Delta State and listing seized laptops, phones and routers. [1][2]

The Justice Department also said Ghanaian authorities identified 89 additional scam victims with approximate losses of $8.3 million, and that earlier strikes in late September at six locations identified 34 trafficking victims and seized 129 devices. The NCA said many people identified as victims were first taken into custody on suspicion of crimes and are believed to have been coerced into the activity. [1][2]

Accounts removed and money identified

The Justice Department said technology companies removed more than 3.7 million accounts, Pages and Groups tied to the region's scam centers, which it called the largest-ever takedown of fraudulent social media accounts there. Meta coordinated the industry side, and the participating companies shared leads on more than 30 suspected scam centers, according to the Justice Department. The release lists more than a dozen participating companies, including Microsoft, Google, Binance and Coinbase, and says the companies acted voluntarily on their own platforms and reported the removals. [1][2]

The agencies said private-sector partners identified more than $11 million in potentially freezable funds. The Justice Department did not say how much has been frozen or seized. FBI Director Kash Patel said, "We are demolishing Scam Centers across the globe and crushing a criminal industry preying on American citizens." [1]

Why officials say it matters

The Justice Department cited FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center data showing 72,984 investment-scam complaints in 2025 and said crypto-linked investment losses rose 24% in 2025 to more than $7.2 billion. It said actual losses are likely much higher because many victims do not report. [1]

A. Tysen Duva, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, called the arrests and account takedowns "just the beginning," according to the NCA. The Justice Department said the U.S. Scam Center Strike Force, launched in November 2025 and focused mainly on Southeast Asia, took part. [1][2]

What remains uncertain

Nearly every figure here comes from the agencies and companies that ran the operation and was not independently verified; the arrest count is given as 28 by the Justice Department and "almost 30" by the NCA. Arrests are not convictions, and the Justice Department's release does not name defendants or list charges. The $11 million is described as potentially freezable, not frozen. "Largest-ever" is the Justice Department's characterization. The 3.7 million account figure was reported by the companies.