By Favour Pius
An international cybercrime operation coordinated by INTERPOL has led to the takedown of more than 45,000 malicious IP addresses and servers, targeting networks linked to phishing, malware, and ransomware activities.
The operation, known as Operation Synergia III, was carried out between July 18, 2025, and January 31, 2026, involving law enforcement agencies from 72 countries and territories, including Nigeria.
According to INTERPOL, the coordinated effort resulted in 94 arrests, while 110 additional suspects are currently under investigation.
During the operation, INTERPOL seized 212 electronic devices and servers used in cybercrime activities.
Neal Jetton, Director of the Cybercrime Directorate at INTERPOL, said the operation highlights the importance of international collaboration in tackling cybercrime.
“Cybercrime in 2026 is more sophisticated and destructive than ever before, but Operation Synergia III stands as a powerful testament to what global cooperation can achieve. INTERPOL remains at the forefront of this fight, uniting law enforcement agencies and private sector experts to dismantle criminal networks, disrupt emerging threats, and protect victims around the world,” he said.
According to INTERPOL, the investigations linked to Operation Synergia III are still ongoing in several countries as law enforcement agencies continue to dismantle cybercrime networks and track additional suspects.
The operation was supported by cybersecurity firms, including Group-IB, Trend Micro, and S2W, which helped identify malicious infrastructure and track illegal cyber activities.
Preliminary investigations across participating countries revealed the scale and diversity of cybercrime tactics used by criminal groups.
Authorities in Macau identified more than 33,000 phishing and fraudulent websites, many disguised as online casinos or legitimate banking and government platforms designed to steal victims’ personal and financial information.
In Togo, police arrested 10 suspects operating a fraud network that specialized in hacking social media accounts and carrying out romance scams and sextortion schemes. The criminals impersonated victims online to manipulate their contacts into sending money.
Meanwhile, police in Bangladesh arrested 40 suspects and seized 134 electronic devices linked to cybercrime operations involving loan scams, job scams, identity theft, and credit card fraud.
Previous operations by INTERPOL, known as Red Card 2.0, recovered over $4.3 million from cybercrime activities across 16 African countries, including Nigeria and Kenya.
The crackdown also led to 651 arrests, the seizure of 2,341 electronic devices, and the dismantling of more than 1,400 malicious IP addresses, domains, and servers linked to online fraud schemes.
Another major operation reported led to the arrest of 1,209 suspected cybercriminals and dismantled 11,432 malicious online infrastructures, while recovering $97.4 million linked to online fraud schemes that affected nearly 88,000 victims.
