Six Nigerian Black Axe cultists have been scheduled for extradition to the U.S. over their involvement in romance scam and wire fraud.
South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in a statement on Friday said it was facilitating the extradition of the six in collaboration with the INTERPOL.
“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.
“This extradition demonstrates the continued cooperation between South African law enforcement agencies and international law enforcement partners in disrupting transnational organised crime and ensuring that suspects wanted in other jurisdictions face due legal process,” stated the security agency.
The six alleged criminals were arrested in South Africa in 2021 during a raid cordinated by the agency.
“The suspects are alleged to have targeted more than 100 women in the United States, allegedly defrauding them of more than R100 million through online romance or love scams,” the statement added.