In a series of covert missions, tagged, “Operation Jackal III” in 21 countries between April and July 2024, Interpol said the highly-coordinated cybercrime group was responsible for some of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud and many other serious crimes, BBC reports Wednesday.

While the police labelled the operation as a “major blow” to the Nigerian crime network, it equally warned of its worldwide reach and technological sophistication — making the Black Axe a global threat.

The report noted that Operation Jackal III had led to the seizure of $3 million of illegal assets and more than 700 bank accounts being frozen.

A senior official at Interpol’s Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, Tomonobu Kaya, stressed the significance of financial technology and cryptocurrency in aiding the operations of cybercrime syndicates which are renowned for multi-million dollar online scams.

He said, “They are very organised and very structured. These criminal syndicates are early adopters of new technologies… A lot of fintech developments make it easy to illegally move money around the world.”

The Black Axe is a secretive criminal network involved in trafficking, prostitution and killing operations around the world. However, cybercrime is the group’s largest source of revenue.

The report noted that several members of the dreaded group are university-educated and were recruited into the group during their schooling.

In a 2022 report by Interpol, it said, “Black Axe and similar groups are responsible for the majority of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud as well as many other serious crimes.”

Multiple so-called “Jackal” police operations have taken place since 2022. Dozens of Black Axe and other gang members had been arrested and their electronic devices seized during these transnational raids.

In one example, Canadian authorities said they busted a money-laundering scheme linked to Black Axe worth more than $5 billion (£3.8bn) in 2017.

Dealing with highly sophisticated criminal groups requires a high level of technological expertise and personnel.

Interpol said it had launched the Global Rapid Intervention of Payments system which enables the authorities in its 196-member countries to freeze bank accounts around the world with unprecedented speed.

The mechanism was used to halt a $40m scam targeting a Singaporean business in July 2024, the police said.

Kaya noted, “We need to have data and to collate our findings from these countries to help build a picture of their modus operandi. If we can gather this data, we can take action.”

In his view, the West Africa Regional Coordinator from the Institute for Security Studies, Dr Oluwole Ojewale, blamed the government for its laxity in curtailing criminal groups such as the Black Axe, among others.

He also said politicians use members of these syndicates for their gains, providing them with the necessary tools to defraud innocent people and commit other atrocities.

“The general failure of governance in the country has put pressure on people to be initiated (into the Black Axe). It is the politicians who are arming these boys,” he asserted.

Ojewale added that “the emphasis must be on prevention not on outright operations against these criminal groups.”

Government sources familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the matter confirmed the development to our correspondent on Sunday night.

One of the sources said, “Binance executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla, has been arrested by the Kenya Police Service, and he would be extradited to Nigeria this week by INTERPOL.”

Another source noted, “As we had said before that Anjarwalla would be extradited, he has been arrested in Kenya, and he’ll be extradited to Nigeria this week.”

the Federal Government had traced Anjarwalla to Kenya, following his escape from lawful custody in Nigeria.

Following the development, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the International Criminal Police, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Kenyan Police Service have deepened talks to quicken Anjarwalla’s extradition.

Anjarwalla, whose cover has now been blown, went into hiding immediately after he landed in Kenya.

“We have found him. We know where he is; he is in Kenya, and we’re working with the authorities to bring him back to Nigeria.

“All hands are on the deck, the government and all the security agencies are working hard in conjunction with the Kenyan authorities and INTERPOL, to ensure his return to Nigeria to face the charges brought against him,” the report had quoted a source as saying.

Meanwhile, the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, had in the March edition of its bulletin titled, “EFCC Alert,” onfirmed that the commission was working in conjunction with the International Criminal Police Organisation, the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation, the governments of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Kenya to extradite Anjarwalla.

Olukoyed said, “The takeover of the prosecution of Binance chiefs by the commission is no less a strong message in the direction of EFCC’s resolve to hedge in distortions and disruptions in the country’s forex market.

“Tax evasion, currency speculation, and money laundering to the tune of $35,400,000 and are at the foundation of the Commission’s five counts against Binance Holdings Limited, Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla, the company’s chief executives.

“While Gambaryan is currently in the Commission’s net, the process of extraditing the fleeing Anjarwalla is revving in full swing. Involved in partnership with the EFCC to nick Anjarwalla in flight are the International Criminal Police Organisation, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, the governments of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and Kenya as the clock winds down to his arraignment in absentia alongside the company and Gambaryan.”

The terrorists and the other criminals were among those who escaped when a terrorist group, the Islamic State of West African Province , bombed the Kuje Correctional Centre on Tuesday night.

As of press time, it was learnt that the details of most of the escapees had already been uploaded.

The Spokesman, Nigeria Correctional Service, Umar Abubakar, disclosed that the names, pictures and other data of the inmates have been circulated to other security agencies.

When asked if the NCoS has dispatched the data of the terrorists to Interpol, Abubakar said, “They are working on it; the ones they uploaded are not too clear to my liking and the management’s liking. Hopefully, they should be through tonight.

“Yes, we have access to the (Interpol) database. Every inmate or suspect that is brought to our facility, we photograph him and have the details about him before it goes to our database.

“They are trying to upload it and work on it so we can have the details of the offences committed and have the next-of-kin and take appropriate actions.”

Asked if the service had alerted other security agencies to look out for the fleeing inmates, Abubakar stated, “Yes, we have sent the list to other security agencies but the issue is that we want to upload the information with their pictures captured for easy identification by this night (Thursday) or earliest tomorrow morning (Friday); by 8am, we should be through.”

Checks by one of our correspondents showed that the reconstruction of the bombed Kuje prison began on Thursday.

A senior officer disclosed that the walls are being fortified as directed by the government.

Responding to claims that there were no close circuit cameras at the facility, a senior officer who spoke on condition of anonymity dismissed it as untrue.

He stated, “The prison has CCTVs, it is just that the cameras do not cover as far as the gate where the soldiers are. But within the walls, there is CCTV. The pictures of the fleeing inmates have been sent to Interpol.”

It was learnt that Mustapha Umar, a man who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison by a Federal High Court in 2013 for bombing the Kaduna office of ThisDay newspapers is among the 60 Boko Haram members that escaped when terrorists attacked the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja on Tuesday, The PUNCH has learnt.

Justice Adeniyi Ademola had ordered that Mustapha spend the rest of his life in jail for bombing the office of ThisDay using 12 camp gas cylinders in 2012. A list of the fleeing inmates showed that some suspected Boko Haram members currently standing trial are among the fleeing inmates.

Yasir Salihu aka Dan Birni, an avowed Boko Haram member who confessed to killing influential Kaduna cleric, Sheikh Auwal Albani, on the order of the late Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, is also among those who escaped. Also on the list is Kyari Goni, a former commander from Shekau’s faction who willingly surrendered to the military.

Others on the list are: Shehu Abdullahi, Suleiman Idi, Suleiman Zacharia, Yakubu Abdullahi, Yasir Salihu, Yunusa Mukaiya, Bello Haruna, Biliyaminu Usman, Sunday Michael, Bello Haruna, Bilyaminu Usman, Bukar Ali, Ibrahim Mohammed, Ikya Abur, Ismail Abdullahi, Modu Aji, Mohammed Sani, Musa Abubakar, Fannami Bukar, Faruku Waziri, Hassan Hassan, Ibrahim Musa, Idris Ojo and Ishaq Farouq

Mohammed Guja, Mohammed Buba, Abdulmannan Obadiki, Abubakar Musa, Abubakar Umar, Adamu Mohammed, Ahmadu Hagola, Asama Kanti, Baluye Modu, Bassey Kingsley, Diko Iko, Abdulkareem Musa, Andulsalami Adamu, Abubakar Habibu, Abubhakar Sadiq, and Abubakar Mohammed were also listed.

Also, it was learnt that the process of uploading the data of 60 escaped terrorists and other criminals to the International Criminal Police Organisation database had begun.

The Spokesman, Nigeria Correctional Service, Umar Abubakar, disclosed that the names, pictures and other data of the inmates havd been circulated to other security agencies.

When asked if the NCoS has dispatched the data of the terrorists to Interpol, Abubakar said, “They are working on it; the ones they uploaded are not too clear to my liking and the management’s liking. Hopefully, they should be through tonight.

“Yes, we have access to the (Interpol) database. Every inmate or suspect that is brought to our facility, we photograph him and have the details about him before it goes to our database.

Checks by one of our correspondents showed that the reconstruction of the bombed facility began on Thursday.

A senior officer disclosed that the walls are being fortified as directed by the government.

Responding to claims that there were no close circuit cameras at the facility, a senior officer who spoke on condition of anonymity dismissed it as untrue.

He stated, “The prison has CCTVs, it is just that the cameras do not cover as far as the gate where the soldiers are. But within the walls, there is CCTV. The pictures of the fleeing inmates have been sent to Interpol.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, says an alert has been sent to all checkpoints across the country even officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service had been put on notice.

In a statement on Thursday, Aregbesola admitted that correctional centres across the country could only contain internal attacks but cannot withstand external force.

The operation targeting malware cyber fraud across Southeast Asia led to the arrest of the three suspected scammers.

In a sting operation conducted by the EFCC, the suspects were arrested in the Ajegunle area of Lagos State, and in Benin City, Edo State.

According to a statement by INTERPOL, the operation was part of a global operation codenamed “Killer Bee” involving the organisation’s General Secretariat headquarters and National Central Bureaus and law enforcement agencies in 11 countries across Southeast Asia.

The arrests follow the publication of an INTERPOL Cyber Report linking a suspected syndicate of Nigerian fraudsters operating from the West Coast of Africa to the use of a malicious Remote Access Trojan known as Agent Tesla.

According to INTERPOL, the men are thought to have used the RAT to reroute financial transactions, stealing confidential online connection details from corporate organisations, including oil and gas companies in South East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

While two of the scammers are still on trial, the third, Hendrix Omorume, has been charged and convicted of three counts of serious financial fraud and faces a 12-month prison sentence.

The three men, aged between 31 and 38, were each arrested in possession of fake documents, including fraudulent invoices and forged official letters.

“Through its global police network and constant monitoring of cyberspace, INTERPOL had the globally sourced intelligence needed to alert Nigeria to a serious security threat where millions could have been lost without swift police action,” said INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime, Craig Jones.

Further arrests and prosecutions are foreseen across the world as intelligence continues to come in and investigations unfold,” added Mr Jones.

INTERPOL assisted in examining the laptops and mobile phones seized by EFCC during the arrests, helping to confirm the systematic use of “Agent Tesla” malware to access business computers and divert monetary transactions to their own accounts.

“Cybercrime is spreading at a fast pace, with new trends constantly emerging. Through operations like Killer Bee, INTERPOL supports EFCC in keeping pace with new technologies and understanding the possibilities they create for criminals and how they can be used as tools for fighting cybercrime,” said EFCC’s Director of Operations, Abdulkarim Chukkol.

“The enforcement actions led by Nigeria and coordinated with INTERPOL send a clear message that cybercrime will have serious repercussions for those involved in business email compromise fraud, particularly in Nigeria,” Chukkol added.

Operation Killer Bee is led by the ASEAN Cybercrime Operations Desk, which is funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund 2.0 and supported by the Singapore Government.

INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate initiated the operation based on intelligence received from a private-sector partner, Trend Micro, under the Gateway framework, about the emergence and usage of “Agent Tesla” malware.