FBI Says Ghana Scam Compound Raid Has Led to More Than 130 Arrests or Detentions

The Federal Bureau of Investigation says more than 130 people have been arrested or detained after a raid on a suspected scam compound in Ghana, in an operation aimed at fraud networks that target American victims.

FBI Director Kash Patel disclosed the results in a post on his official X account on Thursday. He described the Ghana action as part of Operation Blackout, which he called the bureau's global scam-centre fraud demolition, and said the takedown took place this week. Sahara Reporters said the bureau helped Ghanaian authorities carry out the arrests.

According to Patel, investigators have so far identified nearly $10 million in losses and 89 victims, and have seized more than 300 devices. He said the number of people arrested or detained includes victims who will be repatriated to their home countries. Some of those held were victims of trafficking, he added. Photographs he shared on X, which the outlets reproduced with faces blurred, show some of the suspects.

The Ghana case sits within a far larger campaign. Patel said Operation Blackout has so far led to the seizure of roughly $17 billion linked to alleged scam activity, the arrest of hundreds of alleged scammers and the freeing of thousands of trafficked workers. He said more than 10,000 Americans were warned before they lost money, and that an estimated $670 million in losses was prevented.

Patel said the Ghana investigation is ongoing. Sahara Reporters said further arrests, victims and financial losses could emerge as authorities analyse the seized devices and trace the financial networks tied to the alleged operation.

Patel said such compounds "target American citizens and destroy lives" and that the FBI "is crushing them in every corner of the world". "More to come," he said.