More than 300 people have been arrested in seven African countries and almost 2,000 electronic devices seized as part of a vast international operation to combat cybercrime.

The information was released yesterday by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), according to "Noticias ao Minuto."

Carried out between November and February under the code name 'Red Card', the operation targeted "banking fraud using mobile devices, investment and messaging apps", Interpol said in a statement, quoted by the France-Presse news agency (AFP).

In four months, the authorities in Benin, Nigeria, Rwanda, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa and Zambia "arrested 306 suspects and seized 1,842 devices", uncovering scams that claimed more than 5,000 victims, according to Interpol.

In Nigeria, police arrested 130 people, including 113 foreigners, on suspicion of "fraud in casinos and online investments".

According to Interpol, "the suspects, who converted their earnings into digital assets to cover their tracks, were recruited in different countries to carry out these illegal operations in as many languages as possible." On the other hand, it pointed out that some of the suspects may have been "victims of human trafficking, coerced or forced to participate in criminal activities".

In South Africa, more than a thousand SIM cards and around 50 desktop computers and base stations "linked to a sophisticated fraud scheme" were seized.

Interpol also noted, according to AFP, that the Rwandan authorities have arrested 45 members of a network whose members posed as telecommunications employees or relatives of injured parties in order to extract information from their victims and access their bank accounts. (RM /NMInuto)