Interpol, Afripol: Eighty-Three Criminals Arrested

An operation targeting terrorism financing and other illegal activities has led to the arrests of 83 criminals across six African countries and the identification of 160 persons of interest. Of the 83 arrested, 21 were for terrorism-related crimes, 28 were for financial fraud and money laundering, 16 were linked to cyber-enabled scams and a further 18 were related to the illicit use of virtual assets. PUNCH Metro gathered on Wednesday that, the arrests followed a sixcountry operation coordinated jointly by INTERPOL and the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation. According to a statement issued by INTERPOL on Wednesday, the first-of-itskind operation, code-named, ‘Operation Catalyst’, targeted terrorism financing and the illegal activities supporting it. The statement explained that the operation, conducted from July to September 2025, was implemented under the ISPA programme, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office, to strengthen AFRIPOL’s capacity to combat transnational organized crime. During the three-month operation, jointly coordinated by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL, authorities across participating countries screened more than 15,000 persons of interest and entities, uncovering around $260 million in both fiat and virtual currencies potentially linked to terrorism-related activities. Approximately $600,000 has already been seized, with additional investigations underway to trace and recover further assets. While hailing the operations, INTERPOL Secretary General...