The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested or detained more than 130 people after raiding a suspected scam compound in Ghana.
The operation, known as “Operation Blackout,” was disclosed by FBI Director Kash Patel in a post on his official X account on Thursday as part of the agency’s international crackdown on scam centres.
Patel said the Ghana operation had so far uncovered nearly $10 million in identified losses and 89 victims, while more than 300 devices were seized during the raid.
“OPERATION BLACKOUT: This is the FBI’s global scam-centre fraud demolition. Another takedown this week out of Ghana,” Patel wrote.
He said those arrested or detained included people believed to have been trafficked into the scam operation, adding that such victims would be repatriated to their home countries.
“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.
Providing figures for the wider Operation Blackout campaign, Patel said about $17 billion had been seized, while hundreds of suspected scammers were arrested and thousands of trafficked workers freed.
He added that authorities had warned more than 10,000 Americans before they lost money, preventing an estimated $670 million in fraud losses.
