Nineteen people have been arrested and 117 human trafficking victims identified at Sasaabi, an Accra suburb, as Ghanaian authorities joined an international crackdown on criminal networks operating online scam centres.
Authorities also seized 303 electronic devices during the operation, according to the United States Department of Justice. The trafficking victims are awaiting repatriation to Nigeria.
Investigators identified an additional 89 victims of the fraud schemes, with losses estimated at $8.3 million, highlighting the financial damage linked to the targeted operations.
The Ghana operation formed part of “Joint Disruption Week”, a coordinated international enforcement exercise held during the week beginning October 6.
The initiative targeted scam centres in Ghana, Nigeria and other African countries through real-time intelligence sharing between investigators and technology companies.
Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority, the Ghana Police Service’s Criminal Investigation Department and the National Security Service led the local operation, supported by the UK’s National Crime Agency, the FBI and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The latest action followed further enforcement in Ghana during the last week of September. Authorities made scores of arrests across six locations, identified 34 trafficking victims and seized 129 electronic devices.
The Department of Justice described Joint Disruption Week as the first coordinated international effort focused specifically on West African scam networks.
Across the exercise, authorities arrested 28 people — 19 in Ghana and nine in Nigeria. Nigerian authorities also seized 53 electronic devices.
The disrupted schemes included criminals impersonating law enforcement officers, so-called digital “arrest” extortion, cryptocurrency investment fraud and other online scams targeting victims in the United States, the UK and elsewhere.
The operation also exposed the human exploitation associated with organised scam centres, as well as the financial toll they exact.
US Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva praised Ghanaian and Nigerian officers for their role in the crackdown.
“I am especially grateful to the courageous law enforcement officers in Ghana and Nigeria who put themselves in harm’s way to seize evidence and arrest the criminals who prey on innocent people,” he said.
Beyond the arrests, participating technology companies reported removing more than 3.7 million accounts, Pages and Groups used to target people internationally. They also shared leads on more than 30 suspected scam centres.
Private-sector partners identified over $11 million in potentially freezeable funds across the wider initiative. The figure represents funds identified for possible freezing, rather than money confirmed recovered.
Hosted by the National Crime Agency in London, the exercise brought together international law enforcement agencies and companies including Meta, Google and Microsoft.
Authorities said sustained cooperation would remain critical to dismantling the networks and pursuing those behind them.