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- FBI arrests 22 Nigerians in sextortion scheme linked to teen suicides
The UK government has deported 43 individuals — including failed asylum seekers and convicted foreign offenders — to Nigeria and Ghana, reinforcing its ongoing efforts to tighten border security through international cooperation.
The deportation flight, part of the government’s “Plan for Change,” marks another step in restoring discipline to the immigration system by ensuring that immigration laws are enforced and those without the legal right to remain are returned promptly.
This was according to a report on gov.uk on Friday.
Among those removed were 15 failed asylum seekers and 11 foreign national offenders who had completed their prison sentences. Seven individuals also chose to leave the country voluntarily.
This flight is the second to Nigeria and Ghana since the last election, bringing the total number of deportees to 87. Officials say this reflects the growing partnership between the UK and both West African nations.
Since the current government took office, over 24,000 people have been deported — an 11% increase compared to the same period last year. Deportations of foreign national offenders have also risen by 16%, with 3,594 criminals removed from the UK.
Authorities maintain that all returns are handled “in a dignified and respectful manner.”
The Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Angela Eagle, said: “This flight demonstrates how international partnerships deliver on working people’s priorities for swift returns and secure borders. Through the Plan for Change, we’re going further in restoring order to a broken system, accelerating returns of those with no right to be here and closing expensive asylum hotels.
“I thank the governments of Ghana and Nigeria for facilitating this operation, which reflects our joint commitment to disrupt organised immigration crime and protect our borders.”
Baroness Chapman of Darlington, FCDO Minister responsible for Irregular Migration, added: “Working with other countries and partners around the world is critical to tackling irregular migration – by working internationally; we will meet this global challenge together.
“I welcome our strong cooperation with Ghana and Nigeria to return those with no right to be in the UK, secure our borders, and deliver on the Plan for Change.
“This operation follows the Organised Immigration Crime Summit, which saw the UK bring together over 40 countries, including Nigeria and Ghana, to drive forward the global fight against smuggling gangs and deliver on the government’s mission to secure our borders.”
FBI arrests 22 Nigerians in sextortion scheme linked to teen suicides
Also, the FBI has arrested 22 Nigerians allegedly involved in a financially motivated sextortion scheme that has been blamed for more than 20 teen suicides in the United States since 2021, the agency announced in a statement on its website.
In the report published on Thursday, the arrests were part of a first-of-its-kind global operation, codenamed Artemis, conducted in collaboration with law enforcement agencies in Canada, Australia, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom.
The FBI launched Operation Artemis nearly two years ago after receiving thousands of reports of teen boys being coerced into sharing sexually explicit photos online and then extorted with threats of exposure unless they paid.
“As a result of Operation Artemis, FBI investigations led to the arrest of 22 Nigerian subjects, with at least one arrest linked to an American victim who took their own life,” the FBI stated.
In these sextortion schemes, minors—typically boys—are befriended online by individuals posing as young women who persuade them to exchange nude photos.
Once the victims comply, they are demanded to send money to prevent the images from being shared.
Investigators noted that even when victims pay, the demands often persist, and threats escalate.
“Analysis of victims’ phones and social media accounts revealed heartbreaking narratives of young kids enduring panicked negotiations in bids to maintain their privacy,” the FBI said.
The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported over 34,000 sextortion victims in 2023, rising to more than 54,000 last year, with financial losses totaling nearly $65 million over the past two years.
From October 2021 to March 2023, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) recorded over 12,600 minors—mostly boys—targeted in sextortion schemes. The NCMEC noted a sharp increase, receiving 26,718 reports of financial sextortion in 2023, up from 10,731 in 2022.
The Australian Federal Police reported approximately 300 new sextortion cases monthly in Australia.
In Nigeria, FBI Special Agent Matthew Crowley interviewed suspects to understand their motives for choosing sextortion over other financial scams, such as romance fraud or business email compromise.
“One subject said, ‘It’s easy money. I can just move on to the next one if I don’t get any traction,’” Crowley reported.
She added, “It makes sense why they would go that route because they could target 40 victims in a day working multiple at a time. And maybe of those 40, three pay. But if three paid $200, that’s $600.”
The devastating impact of these schemes was underscored by an American father whose 16-year-old son died by suicide in 2023 after sextortion threats.
“Everything that he loved, every college ambition he had, every girl he liked, every friend he had—those things were all threatened right then,” the father said. “Imagine somebody walking into your home in the middle of the night and shooting your son. Well, this person did something even worse than that. He scared him so badly that he shot himself.”