The Cyber Security Authority (CSA), in close collaboration with National Security and the Ghana Police Service, has arrested 48 suspected cybercrime operatives during a coordinated, intelligence led nighttime raid in the Dawhenya area of the Ningo Prampram Constituency.
The operation, carried out between 1:40 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 25, 2025, targeted four locations linked to an alleged transnational cybercrime syndicate. The operation represents one of the latest high impact crackdowns aimed at dismantling criminal networks that exploit digital platforms for illicit gain.
A statement from Sam George, Minister of Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovations, said: “Once again, we have struck at the heart of cybercrime operations within our beloved Homeland”.
Preliminary interrogation indicates the suspects are believed to be Nigerian nationals, comprising 46 males and two females, alleged to be involved in a range of cyber related criminal offences, including romance scams, online investment fraud, impersonation schemes, and illicit online gold trading. Items retrieved during the operation included 54 laptops, 39 mobile phones, one Starlink internet device, and eight MTN TurboNet routers.
“We are committed to carrying out intelligence led surgical strikes against these crime syndicates to ensure that we rid our cyber ecosystem of these criminals. Ghana welcomes everyone interested in legitimate enterprise. We will remain a hostile domain for cyber criminals,” the Minister stated. He added his praise for the security personnel behind the operation: “I commend the operatives who carried out this operation with the professionalism for which our security services are globally recognised. Their service is celebrated”.
The Dawhenya arrests are the latest in a robust year of enforcement actions by Ghanaian authorities aimed at disrupting cybercrime at both local and regional levels.
Additional joint CSA-CID operations between May and July 2025 across Dodowa, Bortianor, Teshie Nungua, and Sogakope resulted in 65 arrests, including foreign nationals suspected of cyber enabled human trafficking and impersonation schemes. A separate August raid in Tema led to the arrest of 39 individuals, including minors, as authorities dismantled a suspected cyber fraud hub.
These domestic efforts dovetail with wider regional and international crackdowns. During INTERPOL coordinated Operation Sentinel from October 27 to November 27, 2025, authorities arrested 574 suspects across 19 African countries and recovered about $3 million. In Ghana specifically, authorities dismantled a major cyber fraud network operating across Ghana and Nigeria that defrauded more than 200 victims of over $400,000. The group used professionally designed websites and mobile applications to impersonate well known fast food brands, collecting online payments without delivering orders. Ten suspects were arrested in Ghana, with over 100 digital devices seized and 30 fraudulent servers taken offline.
These enforcement actions occur against a backdrop of rising cybercrime impact domestically. Ghana lost more than GH¢19 million to cybercrime in the first nine months of 2025, representing a 17 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to data released by the CSA. The country recorded 2,008 cyber incidents in the first half of 2025, a 52 per cent increase compared to 2024, with online fraud remaining the most common form of cybercrime, accounting for 37 per cent of all cases.
At the media launch of the 2025 National Cyber Security Awareness Month in September, CSA Director General Divine Selase Agbeti highlighted that reported cyber incidents rose from 1,317 in the first half of 2024 to 2,008 during the same period in 2025, a surge of over 50 per cent. Online fraud accounts for 36 per cent of cases, followed by cyberbullying at 25 per cent, blackmail at 14 per cent, unauthorized access at 12 per cent, and information disclosure at 9 per cent.
Ghana is working to cement its reputation as a secure hub for digital enterprise and investment, with authorities indicating that enforcement will remain vigorous and intelligence driven.
