Europol announced the arrest of 34 individuals in Spain on Friday, alleged to be part of a transnational criminal organization black ax,
As part of an operation carried out by the Spanish National Police in coordination with the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office and Europol, 28 arrests were made in Seville, as well as three in Madrid, two in Málaga and one in Barcelona.
“Criminal networks are known to be involved in a wide range of criminal activities, including cyber-enabled fraud, drug trafficking, human trafficking and prostitution, kidnapping, armed robbery and fraudulent spiritual practices,” Europol said in a statement.
It is estimated that the criminal network is responsible for the fraud resulting in losses of more than €5.93 million ($6.9 million). In addition to the arrests, authorities froze €119,352 ($138,935) in bank accounts and seized €66,403 ($77,290) in cash during a home search.
The Black Ax is considered a hierarchical criminal group that originated in Nigeria in 1977 before spreading to dozens of countries around the world. The organization is said to have around 30,000 registered members and other associates like money mules and facilitators.
In a report published in late 2022, Interpol announced the arrest of 75 individuals linked to the syndicate for defrauding victims of millions as part of a law enforcement effort called Operation Jackal.
“Violent mafia-style gangs” have been attributed to a laundry list of cyber-enabled activities, including commercial email compromise schemes, romance scams, inheritance scams, credit card fraud, tax fraud, advance payment scams and money laundering, facilitating financial fraud.
In July 2024, Interpol said it had seized more than $5 million in property, cryptocurrencies and luxury goods in two subsequent operations. These efforts led to over 400 arrests and the identification of thousands of additional suspects.
The agency noted at the time, “Black Ax is one of the most prominent West African transnational organized crime syndicates, operating in cyber fraud, human trafficking, drug trafficking and violent crimes within Africa and globally.”
