By Sopuruchukwu Nnaji
Ghanaian authorities have rescued 117 Nigerian victims of human trafficking during a crackdown on suspected scam centres in Accra, uncovering a fraud scheme valued at about $8.3 million.
The rescue was carried out under “Joint Disruption Week,” a four-day international operation hosted by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency in London from October 6 to 9, 2026, the US Department of Justice announced on October 13.
According to the Justice Department, security operatives raided a suspected scam compound in Sasaabi, a suburb of Accra, arresting 19 individuals and seizing 303 electronic devices. During the operation, they discovered 117 persons who had been trafficked from Nigeria and forced to carry out online fraud. The victims are pending repatriation.
Investigators also identified 89 other victims of the scams, with combined losses estimated at $8.3 million.
The Ghana operation was led by the Ghana Cyber Security Authority, the Ghana Police Service CID and National Security Service, with support from the UK NCA, the US FBI and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
In Nigeria, nine suspects were arrested and 53 devices seized, bringing total arrests during the week to 28.
The exercise also involved major tech and crypto firms including Meta, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Binance and Coinbase, who collectively removed over 3.7 million fraudulent accounts, Pages and Groups and identified more than $11 million in potentially freezable funds.
The DOJ described it as the largest ever takedown of accounts linked to West African scam networks.
The authorities said investigations are still ongoing.
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