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Metro
21-07-2025
- Metro
British teens recruited to world's most feared mafia - the Black Axe gang
British teenagers are being lured into joining a Nigerian gang that forces recruits to drink blood to prove their loyalty. Law enforcement agencies warn that the Black Axe gang is preying upon debt-ridden students and professionals working at large organisations, offering them an opportunity to make fast cash. Some are used as 'money mules' who facilitate the transfer of fraudulent money through their bank accounts. Multinational gangs including Black Axe are now responsible for a majority of the world's cyberfraud, according to Interpol. Recruits, who are often male, are first required to undergo an 'initiation' ceremony which involves being stripped, tortured and made to drink blood, before they become 'Axemen'. Not only does the gang target well-healed professionals, many of its recruiters often hold jobs in the IT industry. Detectives say the gang uses Snapchat to distribute registration forms, taking advantage of instantly disappearing 'snap' messages to cover up their fraudulent activities, the Irish Times reported. However, the social network's parent company Snap Inc. insisted content suspected to be illegal is saved and reported to authorities. Black Axe, which operates as a mafia-style organisation, has an estimated 30,000 members across dozens of countries worldwide. More Trending It is thought to take as much as £3.8billion from victims each year through its scams, which also include romance and inheritance frauds as well as phishing and ransomware. Among the recruits of the scheme was 26-year-old university graduate Funmi Abimbola, who was jailed for three years last October for laundering money. The bank worker was said to have had 'many good qualities', but was lured into the crime group, for which he provided bank accounts for the transfer of money. Ireland's Operation Skein has so far identified 1,400 individuals connected to Black Axe. It has prosecuted more than 300 affiliated people, cautioned 39 juveniles, and identified more than 1,000 money mules during the investigation. 'Individuals need to realise that if they act as a money mule, they are interacting with vicious transnational organised criminals', said Garda Detective Inspector Michael Cryan. He added that the gang 'controls' its recruits, demanding that they hand themselves over in the event money is stopped or frozen by their bank. 'People who get involved in this are destroying their own futures because they could go to jail, end up with a criminal record and be prevented from getting jobs.' Forces from 196 countries are also able to draw on data from Interpol, which has created an intelligence database on the gang. Interpol dealt a 'major blow' to the gang after coordinating a huge operation which saw more than 300 people linked to Black Axe and affiliated groups arrested worldwide, including in the UK and Ireland. The probe, codenamed Operation Jackal III, recovered £2.24million in stolen assets including luxury items and cryptocurrencies, and saw more than 700 bank accounts frozen. It also uncovered large transactions to Nigerian bank accounts. A senior official for the multinational crime organisation said that Black Axe were 'early adopters' in money transfer technology. More Trending Tomonobu Kaya said that the rise of fintech banks, which operate digitally and have little to no physical presence, have helped facilitate the quick and seamless transfer of money around the world. In another operation, three members of the same family in the UK were jailed for more than 16 years after being found to have worked with Black Axe's alleged leader. The Nakpodia siblings laundered more than £1million through email and phone scams between 2007 and 2015 for their Nigerian-based brother-in-law Augustus Bemigho-Eyeoyibo. A BBC investigation into the Nigerian gang also found evidence of severe torture and brutality from pictures of dead bodies shared on social media. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page.
The Irish Sun
03-06-2025
- The Irish Sun
‘Thugs go after the vulnerable, I got convicted but saw no cash' says blackmailed money mule as teens targeted by gang
THOUSANDS of teenagers in Ireland have been targeted by one of the world's most violent cyber crime gangs, we can reveal. A special investigation by The Irish Sun today tells how young people — aged between 17 and 22 — have been used by the Black Axe crime gang as part of their efforts to launder €84million through Irish 6 Young people have been used by the Black Axe crime gang Credit: Garda Info 6 Funmi Abimbola was a facilitator for the gang Credit: COLLECT 6 Giuseppe Diviccaro posed as a fashion photographer in Ireland to help run a Europe-wide fraud scam Credit: COLLECT Those in the sights of the mob include people with addiction issues, individuals who are homeless and those who come from broken homes. But others include those who have to pay off drug debts, the children of millionaires and top students. They have blackmailed kids to act as money mules after obtaining intimate images of their targets. The online criminals — classified as 'master manipulators' by READ MORE IN NEWS Once interest is shown, the fraudsters outline how the money will be paid if they can have full access to the target's bank account. And that's exactly what happened to 'John', not his real name, when he agreed to act as a 'money mule' for the infamous Investigators believe the money mule was recruited by one of the gang's main 'herders' in Ireland. The top criminal has since been arrested by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau and remains a key target under 'Operation Skein'. Most read in Irish News At present, the mob is classified by Interpol as an 'ultra violent cyber crime gang' with more than 30,000 members. 'John' spoke exclusively to The Irish Sun after he received an 18-month suspended sentence for money laundering. Inside France's brutal crypto crime wave with chopped off fingers, delivery van street kidnaps & £10million ransoms He told us: 'I was duped by these people and wish I could turn back the clock. 'I was homeless at the time and got this Snapchat message offering me €500 in exchange for my bank account details, and I thought it was easy money. 'I have never been in trouble in my life and never once thought that doing something like this was a form of money laundering. 'I was vulnerable and that's why they targeted me — and I never received any payment. 'I WAS DUPED' 'I was duped by these people and I would urge anyone not to respond to requests of this nature.' John was contacted on Snapchat and agreed to hand over his personal bank details. Once obtained, €49,500 then landed in his account. Two other young men were also targeted by the same 'herder' and laundered €14,900 in one account and €7,500 in another account. He also handed over his bank card and PIN number after he was instructed to meet one of the gang's associates in Dublin. SPENDING SPREE One week later, the cash was gone as the criminals went on a spending spree, buying designer clothes and electronic devices. But it wasn't until the following year when details of the huge cash lodgement was uncovered by Gardai. A probe was launched by investigators from the DMR South Serious Crime Unit at Sundrive Road Garda Station after they were contacted by Interpol. On that occasion, Interpol suspected that the cash had been stolen from a machinery company in Hungary using an 'Invoice Redirect' fraud. HOW SCAM OPERATES The scam operates by fraudsters cloning the emails of legitimate companies and asking the firm in Hungary to send payments to a different account in Ireland. But, after identifying the fraud, the firm supplied Interpol with the bank account details of where the money had been sent. The information was later passed to Gardai. Once Gardai received details of the bank account, they established John's identity and then analysed the account, identifying any other transactions. ADMITTED GUILT John was arrested by Garda detectives on August 8, 2023 and admitted his guilt. He later pleaded guilty to a money laundering offence and received a fully suspended 18-month sentence, on March 14 of this year. John added: 'I am now in a good place and just want to get on with my life. 'I would also have no hesitation in going into schools and telling the young people there about my own experience. 'STAY WELL AWAY' 'If young people engage with these fraudsters then it could seriously affect their future — my message is to stay well away.' Det Supt Michael Cryan confirmed money mules were an 'integral part' of the major crime gang. The senior officer said: 'Individuals need to realise that if they act as a money mule, they are interacting with vicious transnational organised criminals. 'You owe them and they control you. If the money is frozen by the bank, they have been known to demand that you pay up yourself — like drug dealers. US HAS 'HARSH SENTENCING' 'The money mules have no idea what their account will be used for, how much or where it was stolen. If stolen in the USA, they may look to extradite you there to charge you and sentencing is very harsh there. 'They also need to realise that they are helping organised crime gangs who traffic humans, who run brothels, as well as funding their lavish lifestyles. 'People who get involved in this are destroying their own futures because they could go to jail, end up with a criminal record and be prevented from getting jobs.' As part of 'Operation Skein', Gardai have identified 1,100 people connected to the Black Axe gang in Ireland. OPERATION SKEIN They have also made 565 arrests, prosecuted 300 people and cautioned 39 juveniles. Over 50 senior members of the gang have also been arrested here. Our revelations on the gang come after Innocent 'Lucky' Aigbekaen, 31, from Dundalk, Co Louth, became their latest member to be jailed here in November 2024. The conman — who used the name 'Nino Blanti' — recruited money mules and laundered €331,623 through Irish accounts. Bank worker Funmi Abimbola, 26, from Rosse Court Terrace in Lucan, Dublin, who was a facilitator for the gang, was jailed for three years in October last year. Also caged was Italian conman Giuseppe Diviccaro, 48, who was locked up in 2021 after he posed as a photographer in Ireland to launder €200,000 through Irish accounts. 6 Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan said money mules were an integral part of the crime gang Credit: Brian Lawless/PA 6 Some €84million has been laundered through Irish banks Credit: Getty 6 The mob has blackmailed kids to act as money mules Credit: Paul Sharp - Commissioned by The Sun Dublin
