2026-09-11T12:21:00-0400 / 哥伦比亚广播公司/美联社
南非警方表示，6名与有组织犯罪网络有关联的尼日利亚籍嫌疑人将在周五被引渡至美国。该犯罪网络据称通过在线浪漫诈骗骗取美国女性超过600万美元。
这些男子于2021年在南非开普敦被捕，将于周五被移交给美国联邦调查局官员，并被带回美国面临电信诈骗和洗钱指控。
他们被指控隶属于一个名为“黑斧”的犯罪网络。国际刑警组织称，该网络是全球利用网络实施金融诈骗的主要犯罪团伙之一，这类诈骗通常通过浪漫诈骗、加密货币和投资骗局进行。
此次引渡距离“黑斧”一名重要头目因共谋参与网络诈骗和洗钱被引渡至美国还不到两年时间。
据南非警方介绍，这些嫌疑人据称瞄准了美国境内100多名女性，通过在线浪漫或爱情诈骗骗取了超过600万美元。
警方在一份声明中表示，受害者中包括退休人员和商人，他们据称是通过精心构建的在线恋爱关系被盯上的。
2026年9月11日周五，在南非开普敦，精英战术警察部队押送6名因参与浪漫诈骗将被引渡至美国的尼日利亚籍公民。美联社照片
警方发言人卡特莱戈·莫加勒表示：“通过南非国际刑警组织的协调，这六人今天将从开普敦的一所惩教设施被送往开普敦国际机场，在那里他们将被移交给联邦调查局和美国特勤局的官员，这些官员已于今早抵达南非。”
国际刑警组织上月表示，该组织近期针对西非有组织犯罪团伙开展的行动逮捕了58人，并确认了263名与涉及类似罪行的各类犯罪网络有关联的嫌疑人。
此次行动旨在打击洗钱活动、识别高价值目标、扣押资产，并协助逮捕和起诉工作。
在南非，当局突袭了约翰内斯堡市内与一个犯罪集团有关联的7处地点。该集团运营浪漫和投资诈骗，瞄准英语国家的退休人员。
国际刑警组织称，在南非的此次行动中，警方逮捕了39人，缴获267万美元，并冻结了超过250个银行账户。
根据美国联邦贸易委员会的数据，2023年美国有超过6.4万人因浪漫诈骗损失超过10亿美元——较四年前的5亿美元翻了一番。
2024年，哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的一则调查报道揭露了加纳境内的一起大规模浪漫诈骗团伙。
一名自称“巫毒”的加纳诈骗团伙头目在接受哥伦比亚广播公司新闻采访时表示：“我在世界各地都有行动。”但他补充道，最容易得手的受害者是美国人。
Suspects accused of swindling American women out of $6 million in romance scam extradited to U.S. from South Africa
2026-09-11T12:21:00-0400 / CBS/AP
Six Nigerian nationals linked to an organized criminal network that allegedly swindled American women out of more than $6 million through online romance scams will be extradited to the United States on Friday, South African police said.
The men, who were arrested in the South African city of Cape Town in 2021, are set to be handed over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Friday and taken to the U.S. to face wire fraud and money laundering charges.
They are accused of belonging to a criminal network known as the Black Axe, which Interpol describes as being part of criminal groups responsible for a significant share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud, typically through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams.
The move comes less than two years after a prominent leader of the Black Axe was extradited to the U.S. for conspiring to engage in internet scams and money laundering.
According to South African police, the men are alleged to have targeted more than 100 women in the U.S., defrauding them of more than $6 million through online romance or love scams.
Among the alleged victims were pensioners and businesspeople who were reportedly targeted through sophisticated online relationships, police said in a statement.
Members of the elite tactical police unit escort six Nigerian nationals being extradited to U.S. for participating in romance scams, in Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. AP Photo
“Through the coordination of Interpol South Africa, the six will today be transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport, where they will be handed over to officials from the FBI and the United States Secret Service, who arrived in South Africa this morning,” said police spokesperson Katlego Mogale.
A recent operation by Interpol targeting West African organized crime groups led to the arrest of 58 people and the identification of 263 suspects linked to various criminal networks involved in similar crimes, the multinational police body said last month.
The operation aimed to disrupt money laundering, identify high-value targets, seize assets and support arrests and prosecution.
In South Africa, authorities raided seven locations in the city of Johannesburg linked to a syndicate that ran romance and investment scams targeting retirees in English-speaking countries.
In that operation in South Africa, police arrested 39 people, seized $2.67 million and froze more than 250 bank accounts, Interpol said.
More than 64,000 Americans were taken for over $1 billion in romance scams in 2023— double the $500 million just four years earlier, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
In 2024, a CBS News investigation uncovered a large-scale romance scam operation in Ghana.
“I fish everywhere in the world,” a syndicate boss in Ghana who called himself Voodu told CBS News. But he said of the easiest victims to catch, “They are Americans.”
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