German police arrested 11 suspected members of a Nigerian mafia group behind a large-scale dating scam on Wednesday.
Bavarian police said in a statement that the Black Axe gang was involved in “multiple areas of criminal activity”, with a focus in Germany on dating scams and money laundering.
The police said the dating trick was a modern form of marriage fraud.
“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.
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.
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 police added that the money was subsequently transferred to Black Axe in Nigeria via financial agents.
