A major INTERPOL-led border security operation across West Africa has resulted in dozens of arrests and the seizure of significant quantities of weapons, ammunition, explosives, drugs, fake medicines, and stolen vehicles.
Accra-based Citi News reported that the sweep, known as Operation Screen West Africa 2025, ran from July to October and involved security agencies from 12 countries, including Ghana.
The initiative aimed to reinforce border controls, disrupt criminal networks, and track individuals with links to terrorism.
Across land borders, airports, and seaports, officers used INTERPOL’s mobile systems to conduct more than 1.7 million checks — up from 1.3 million last year. These checks helped security personnel identify suspects, monitor illicit movements, and match individuals against global criminal databases.
The operation yielded several major breakthroughs. Multiple suspects with alleged ties to terrorist groups were arrested, and nearly 250 database hits connected individuals to various INTERPOL notices, including alerts related to terrorism.
In one of the most notable instances of cross-border cooperation, authorities in Burkina Faso arrested two men wanted in Côte d’Ivoire for a 2020 Al-Qaeda-linked attack that killed more than ten security officers. A third suspect with similar links was also detained, having previously appeared on INTERPOL’s radar during a 2024 operation in Togo.
Ghanaian officers made a significant humanitarian rescue when they intercepted and freed 21 victims of human trafficking. The victims had been trafficked from Nigeria and forced into fraudulent schemes.
INTERPOL’s Executive Director Police Services pro tempore, Cyril Gout, said the results demonstrate the power of international cooperation and real-time data-sharing in detecting terrorist movements and stopping criminal actors before they cause harm. He reiterated the organisation’s commitment to strengthening regional security and enhancing tools available to member states.
At ports and harbours, authorities uncovered vessels involved in suspicious maritime activities. Some ships were found to be conducting “dark operations,” including switching off tracking systems or repeatedly changing flags to evade monitoring.
Investigators also seized a wide array of contraband believed to be used to finance extremist or criminal networks. The items included caches of weapons and ammunition, explosives such as dynamite and detonators, stolen vehicles, large quantities of cannabis, counterfeit medicines including fake opioid painkillers, and forged currency and documents.
The operation brought together 12 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
It was supported by funding from the German Federal Foreign Office, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs under projects I-CT Shield, WATA, and AGWE.
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