The South African Police Service (SAPS) says six Nigerian nationals will be extradited to the United States over allegations of defrauding more than 100 women through a romance scam scheme.
SAPS said the suspects, who were arrested in South Africa in 2021, are alleged members of the Black Axe network and are wanted by US authorities over charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
According to the police, the suspects allegedly defrauded women in the US of more than R100 million.
SAPS said the six suspects would be transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport, where they would be handed over to officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Secret Service.
“The six Nigerian nationals were arrested in South Africa in 2021, following a major takedown operation conducted by the Hawks/DPCI,” the police said in a statement published on Friday.
“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 (FBI) and the United States Secret Service, who arrived in South Africa this morning.
“The formal handover is expected to take place this afternoon.”
The extradition follows another recent case involving Nigerians transferred to the US over alleged online crimes.
In August, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission extradited two Nigerian nationals, Mudashiru Afeez Olawale and Adebola Festus, to the US over alleged online sexual exploitation and sextortion of two teenage boys who later died by suicide.
The EFCC said investigations by the US FBI allegedly linked the two men to separate sextortion schemes targeting male minors.
Boluwatife Enome
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