Ghanaian authorities have arrested 48 Nigerian nationals in a coordinated operation targeting organised cybercrime on the outskirts of Accra.
The Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, Sam George, disclosed the arrests in a statement posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Wednesday. He said the suspects were apprehended during a nighttime, intelligence-led raid in the Dawhenya area of the Ningo-Prampram Constituency.
According to the minister, the operation was carried out by the Cyber Security Authority of Ghana (CSA) in collaboration with National Security operatives and the Ghana Police Service.
“Once again, we have struck at the heart of cybercrime operations within our beloved homeland,” George stated.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects—46 males and two females—are Nigerian nationals. Authorities allege that they are involved in a range of cyber-related criminal activities, including romance scams, online investment fraud, impersonation schemes, and illicit online gold trading.
Items recovered during the raid include 54 laptops, 39 mobile phones, one Starlink internet device, and eight MTN TurboNet routers, which investigators believe were used to facilitate the criminal operations.
The arrests come amid heightened efforts across West Africa to combat cybercrime. Earlier this year, nearly 800 suspects, including about 150 Chinese nationals, were arrested in Lagos, Nigeria, during a separate crackdown on online fraud.
Ghanaian officials said the Accra operation is part of a broader strategy to safeguard the country’s digital and financial ecosystem from organised cybercrime networks.
“We are committed to carrying out intelligence-led surgical strikes against these crime syndicates to ensure that we rid our cyber ecosystem of these criminals,” George said.
He added that while Ghana remains open to foreigners engaged in legitimate business, the country “will remain a hostile domain for cyber criminals.”
