Toronto police say that they have arrested seven suspects in connection with a global fraud investigation targeting West African organized crime groups.
Operation Jackal III was conducted with the assistance of authorities in 21 countries.
The Interpol investigation resulted in 300 arrests globally as well as the identification of an additional 400 suspects.
In a news release on Friday, Toronto police confirmed that seven of those arrests involved suspects from the Toronto area.
Police allege that those suspects stole business cheques and other financial documents from mailboxes in the GTA and across southern Ontario “in order to commit identity theft and other frauds.”
“We have been able to connect it to certain West African organized crime groups, including Black Axe which has its roots in Nigeria but is known to operate around the world,” Det. David Coffey, of the Toronto Police Financial Crimes Unit, told CP24 on Friday. “So we made a number of arrests and the damages in regards to those arrests were over $1.3 million.”
Interpol has said that a global investigation targeting West African organized crime groups resulted in the seizure of around $3 million in U.S. currency and the “dismantling of multiple criminal networks around the world.”
Toronto police say that their participation in the probe dates back to late 2023 when investigators became aware of a cyber-related romance fraud that was targeting elderly victims on various social media platforms.
Search warrants were ultimately executed in the Toronto area earlier this month, resulting in the arrests.
A post-operational meeting was also hosted at Toronto police headquarters on July 2 and attended by representatives from police agencies in all 21 countries that participated.
“When you are talking about West African organized crime, you are talking cyber primarily and you are talking identity theft frauds. Part of our investigation involved theft of mail. So really, a crucial, crucial portion of this is maintaining your integrity when it comes to your identity. Check your bank accounts regularly, look for irregularities,” Coffey said.
