International cooperation targets leaders and members of the Nigerian criminal organisation engaged in online fraud and money laundering.
Europol has supported a comprehensive investigation conducted by Swiss authorities in collaboration with German law enforcement against members of the international criminal organisation ‘Black Axe’. On 28 April 2026, house searches were carried out in several Swiss cantons, resulting in a total of 10 arrests, including the Black Axe “Regional Head” for the Southern European region. This operation targeted leaders and members of the Nigerian brotherhood suspected of being active internationally in a wide range of criminal activities.
As a result of the investigation led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office II of the Canton of Zurich (Staatsanwaltschaft II Zürich) together with the Zurich Cantonal Police (Kantonspolizei Zürich) and the Zurich City Police (Stadtpolizei Zürich), the suspects are accused of numerous crimes. This includes romance scams and other cyber fraud offences causing millions of Swiss francs in damages, as well as money laundering. Zurich Cantonal and City Police, with the support of police forces from other cantons, searched various residential and storage facilities in the Canton of Zurich and five other cantons today. During this action day, 10 persons were arrested, most of whom are of Nigerian origin.
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