In a major transnational security operation, the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) has arrested 11 suspected senior members of various terrorist groups in Nigeria.
The arrests were part of “Operation Catalyst”, a joint initiative with AFRIPOL that led to 83 arrests across six African countries – Angola, Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria and South Sudan.
According to INTERPOL, the two-month operation targeted terrorist financing networks and related illicit activities, screening more than 15,000 individuals and entities. Investigators uncovered over $260 million in fiat and virtual currencies potentially linked to terrorism, with an additional $600,000 in cash seized.
Of the 83 arrests, 21 were tied directly to terrorism, while others involved money laundering, financial fraud, and cybercrime. In one major case in Angola, 25 people were detained for running informal value transfer systems suspected of funding terrorism.
Similar operations in Kenya uncovered a $430,000 crypto-based laundering scheme and the online recruitment of youths into extremist groups.
INTERPOL said the Nigerian operation specifically targeted “high-level members of several terrorist organisations,” as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle transnational terror financing networks.
For over a decade, Nigeria has battled terrorism led by groups such as Boko Haram and ISWAP, which have claimed thousands of lives and destabilized communities across the northeast.
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