INTERPOL Chief Pledges Support for Greater Collaboration to Fight Africa’s Security Threats

CAPE TOWN, Xinhua: Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, president of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), has vowed the agency’s full support in strengthening collaboration and innovation on the African continent in tackling high threats of organized crime and cyber threats.

Al-Raisi made the remarks at the 27th INTERPOL African Regional Conference in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, on Wednesday, which brought together representatives from 56 countries for the three-day meeting.

The INTERPOL head emphasized that each African country has its own unique needs, challenges, and strengths, with online scams, ransomware, business email compromise, and digital extortion among the most frequently reported cyber threats.

According to him, a recent operation gathered investigators from 18 African countries to tackle high-harm and high-impact cybercrimes, including ransomware, online scams, and business email compromise.

“This operation led to the arrest of 1,209 cybercriminals targeting nearly 88,000 victims, the recovery of 97.4 million U.S. dollars, and the dismantling of 11,432 malicious infrastructures,” said Al-Raisi.

He announced that INTERPOL’s executive committee has developed a clear five-year roadmap for Africa and global policing. “This roadmap strengthens the systems through which we will help you tackle the threats you face, from terrorism to cybercrime, from environmental crime to organized criminal networks,” he added.

South African Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia noted that transnational organized crime remains one of the most serious threats to peace, stability, and development across Africa and beyond.

“These crimes transcend borders, exploit technological advances, and undermine the security of our people and the integrity of our respective states and economies,” he warned.

This year’s conference will also serve to establish an INTERPOL African Committee, aimed at addressing transnational organized crime in Africa in a more structured, coherent, and unified manner, he added.

The African Regional Conference is a bi-yearly event, with this year’s gathering hosted by the South African Police Service, under the theme “Leveraging cooperation, innovation, and partnerships to fight transnational organized crime.”