Swiss police forces take action against West African criminals
Published: Tuesday, Jul 16th 2024, 15:00
Back to Live Feed
As part of a globally coordinated operation against organized crime from West Africa, various police forces in Switzerland have seized 8.5 kilograms of cocaine and 88,000 Swiss francs. 22 people were detained and ten arrested.
As the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) announced on Tuesday, the majority of those arrested were from Nigeria. The operation, which was coordinated by Interpol, was aimed in particular at combating so-called Nigerian brotherhoods.
They have names such as "Black Axe", "Vikings" and "Supreme Eiye Confraternity". These organizations have their roots in student fraternities from the 1950s and were originally founded to achieve social goals such as equality and justice.
Today, findings from international police cooperation indicate that these groups are involved in drug trafficking, various forms of online fraud and human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
The internationally coordinated operation known as "Jackal" leads to the assumption that some of the brotherhoods also function as criminal networks in Switzerland. Various criminal groups of Nigerian origin have probably been active in Switzerland for around 20 years, the report continues.
The largest coordinated operation as part of "Jackal" took place in Lausanne in mid-May and was summarized in a press release by the Vaud cantonal police shortly afterwards. At that time, the police seized more than a kilo of cocaine and over 48,000 francs in cash during a house search.
In addition to 88,000 francs, over 10,000 euros were also seized across the country as part of "Jackal". Several cantonal and municipal police forces as well as Fedpol and the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security were involved in the operation in Switzerland.
©Keystone/SDA
English 
German 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic