By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
POLICE in Spain have arrested 34 people in a crackdown on the Black Axe gang, a notorious African crime group.
EU law enforcement agency Europol said the operation targeted “the core group of the organised crime network, which recruits money mules in impoverished areas with high unemployment rates”.
Police arrested 28 people Seville, as well as 3 in Madrid, 2 in Málaga and 1 in Barcelona.
“Investigators believe that the criminal network is responsible for fraud resulting in damages exceeding €6 million,” Europol said.
Black Axe originated in Nigeria as a student confraternity in the late 1970s. It has since evolved into a structured, violent criminal organisation dealing mainly in cyber-enabled financial crime.
Europol said that the operation caused “significant disruptions” to Black Axe activities.
“Black Axe is a highly structured, hierarchical group with its origins in Nigeria and a global presence in dozens of countries.,” Europol said. “The core group of arrested suspects consists of 10 individuals of Nigerian nationality.”
The gang is involved in multiple areas of organised crime, including fraud, armed robbery, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
Europol said Black Axe’s annual revenue is “estimated in the billions of euros,” Europol said. “[These are] generated through many small-scale operations that collectively have a significant impact.
Black Axe operates in approximately 60 zones in Nigeria and 35 abroad, with about 200 members per zone. In total, the organisation has roughly 30,000 registered members. Europol also said it has “countless affiliated individuals such as money mules and facilitators”.
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