The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested or more than 130 people in Ghana in an operation targeting a transnational scam network linked to nearly $10 million in losses suffered by American victims.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the operation on Thursday, October 8, 2026, saying investigators had identified 89 victims and seized more than 300 electronic devices.
The operation was conducted under Operation Blackout, the FBI’s campaign against international scam centres.
Patel said some of those detained were trafficking victims who are expected to be repatriated, meaning the 130-plus figure does not represent alleged fraud operators alone.
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The FBI has not disclosed the operation’s location, the identities of those detained or the Ghanaian agencies involved.
The crackdown comes amid increased action against cyber fraud and human trafficking in Ghana. In July, the Ghana Immigration Service intercepted 102 West African nationals at a suspected cyber-fraud facility in Dawhenya, Greater Accra. Authorities identified 85 as trafficking victims and arrested 17 others over alleged involvement in the scheme.
Also in July, Ghanaian authorities extradited national Frederick Kumi, alias Abu Trica, to the United States over allegations that he helped operate a romance-fraud network that targeted more than 80 elderly Americans and caused losses exceeding $8 million.
Patel said Operation Blackout had so far produced roughly $17 billion in seized assets, hundreds of arrests and the rescue of thousands of trafficked workers. More than 10,000 Americans had also been warned before losing money, preventing an estimated $670 million in losses.
The Ghana investigation remains ongoing.