A Nigerian sextortion ring linked to the suicide of an Australian teenager has been dismantled and 22 suspects arrested during a global investigation involving police from Australia, the United States and Canada.
The scammers coerced their victims, mainly based in North American, into sharing sexually explicit images before threatening to distribute those images unless payment was made, the Australian Federal Police said on Monday.
The AFP, working with the FBI, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said they played a key role in Operation Artemis, which focused on a criminal network that had targeted thousands of teenagers around the world.
The operation led to the arrest of 22 suspected scammers, including two Nigerians linked to the suicide of a 16-year-old in New South Wales in 2023. More than 20 suicides in the US have been linked to sextortion scams since 2021.
“During the operation, two AFP investigators deployed in Nigeria were able to trace online activity, link digital evidence to suspects, and assist in the identification of both perpetrators and victims,” the AFP said.
“Investigators from the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) also provided expert analysis on data seized by foreign law enforcement and supported processes to avoid overlap with local investigations.
“Their efforts created a measurable result locally – in the 2023–2024 financial year, the ACCCE received a total of 58,503 reports of online child exploitation, including 1554 sextortion-related reports. These figures reflect the growing sophistication and volume of online abuse attempts targeting Australian children.”
The AFP said there was an immediate reduction in sextortion-related reports after the Operation Artemis arrest phase, but warned that Australian teenagers are still being targeted.
The ACCCE has also created a dedicated sextortion help page with resources and information on how to report the crime.
Header image: Left, right, a suspected scammer arrested in Nigeria. (AFP).
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