FBI storms Ghana, arrests 130

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has raided a suspected fraudsters hideout in Ghana and arrested more than 130 people.

This was disclosed in a post shared on the official X account of the FBI Director, Kash Patel on Thursday October 8.

Patel said the operation, codenamed “Operation Blackout”, was carried out in the week as part of the FBI’s efforts to dismantle global scam centres.

“OPERATION BLACKOUT: This is the FBI’s global scam-centre fraud demolition. Another takedown this week out of Ghana,” Patel wrote.

Patel said the operation had so far resulted in nearly $10m in identified losses, 89 victims identified, more than 130 individuals arrested or detained, including victims who would be repatriated to their home countries, and more than 300 devices seized.

“Investigation is ongoing. These scam compounds target American citizens and destroy lives – and this FBI is crushing them in every corner of the world. More to come,” he said.

Patel also gave an update on the overall Operation Blackout figures, saying roughly $17bn had been seized, hundreds of alleged scammers arrested and thousands of trafficked workers freed.

According to him, more than 10,000 Americans had been warned before losing their money, while an estimated $670m in losses had been prevented.