The FBI said an international operation targeting scam compounds in Ghana and Nigeria last week resulted in 28 arrests and the identification of more than $11 million in funds that may be frozen.
FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital that authorities seized more than 350 devices, identified over 100 potential American victims and freed more than 100 trafficked workers. The FBI said more than 120 workers were identified for repatriation.
The activity was part of Operation Blackout, an FBI campaign aimed at disrupting overseas fraud networks through raids, asset seizures and action against online infrastructure. The West Africa effort was conducted during a London-based “Joint Disruption Week,” according to the report.
In Ghana, 19 suspects were arrested, and 117 people identified as trafficking victims were awaiting repatriation to Nigeria, the FBI said. Nigerian authorities were expected to prosecute nine people arrested there under Nigerian law.
Meta said it removed more than 3.7 million Facebook and Instagram accounts, Pages and Groups it alleged were connected to scams targeting people in the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The company also said it provided leads on more than 30 suspected scam centers. Meta’s Chris Sonderby credited coordination with U.K. and U.S. law enforcement agencies.
The FBI said victims identified in the operation had reported losses exceeding $10 million. Patel has previously described scam networks as expanding into Africa from other regions. The source also reports that the FBI attributes roughly $17 billion in seizures and an estimated $670 million in prevented losses to Operation Blackout overall; those figures were not independently detailed in the account.
