German Police Arrest Nigerians Over Dating Scam

German police said they had arrested 11 suspected members of a Nigerian mafia group behind a large-scale dating scam.

The Bavarian police, in a statement on Wednesday, said the Black Axe gang was involved internationally in “multiple areas of criminal activity”, with a focus in Germany on dating scams and money laundering.

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.

The money was subsequently transferred to Black Axe in Nigeria “via financial agents”, authorities added.

In the process, the gang used a “commodity-based money laundering” scheme where products, often with a seeming “charitable purpose,” were bought and delivered to Nigeria.

According to the police, 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 Black Axe gang had “strict hierarchical structures under leadership in Nigeria” operating different territorial units, police said.