Six Nigerians charged with scamming over 100 women in the US through online romance scams have been extradited from South Africa to the United States.
The South African Police Service said on X on Friday that the people apprehended in South Africa in 2021 are alleged members of the Black Ax criminal network.
“The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), commonly known as the #Hawks, in collaboration with #INTERPOL South Africa, will today facilitate the extradition of six Nigerian nationals to the United States of America,” SAPS announced.
SAPS stated that the six individuals were wanted by US authorities on charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
According to the SAPS, the suspects “allegedly defrauded them of more than R100 million through online romance/love scams.”
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) said that the Nigerians were handed over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service at Cape Town International Airport on Friday.
Eye Witness News quoted Hawks spokesperson, Colonel Katlego Mogale, as stated, “Through the coordination of INTERPOL South Africa, the six will today be transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport, where they will be handed over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service.”
Mogale stated that the extradition demonstrated collaboration between South African and international law enforcement organizations in combating transnational organized crime.
”This extradition demonstrates the continued cooperation between South African law enforcement agencies and international law enforcement partners in disrupting transnational organized crime and ensuring that suspects wanted in other jurisdictions face due legal process,” he said.
