By Enyichukwu Enemanna
At least 11 Nigerian nationals suspected to be members of a mafia group behind a large-scale dating scam have been arrested, German police have announced.
Bavarian police in a statement on Wednesday said the Black Axe gang was involved in internationally “multiple areas of criminal activity”, with a focus in Germany on dating scams and money-laundering,
The dating trick was a “modern form of marriage fraud”, police said.
“Using false identities, the fraudsters for example signalled their intention to marry and in the course of further contact repeatedly demand money under various pretexts,” police said.
According to authorities, the money was subsequently transferred to Black Axe in Nigeria “via financial agents”.
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In the process, the gang used a “commodity-based money laundering” scheme where products, often with a seeming “charitable purpose” were bought and delivered to Nigeria.
Some 450 cases of romance scamming had been reported in the region of Bavaria in 2023 alone, with the damages rising to 5.3 million euros ($5.7 million), police said.
The suspects, who all held Nigerian citizenship and were aged between 29 and 53, were arrested in nationwide raids on Tuesday.
Law enforcement swooped on 19 properties, including both homes and asylum shelters, police said.
The Black Axe gang had “strict hierarchical structures under leadership in Nigeria” operating different territorial units, police said.
The group had a “significant influence” on politics and public administrations, particularly in Nigeria.
Globally, the gang’s main areas of operation were “human-trafficking, fraud, money-laundering, prostitution and drug-trafficking”.
The action against Black Axe was the first of its kind in Germany, police said.
