Interpol’s Operation First Light snares 21,500 telecoms fraudsters with China’s help

US$154 million in illicit funds seized during year-long investigation, supported by law enforcement agencies in 35 countries

Interpol says there has been a spike in telecoms fraud since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic

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The head of Interpol’s Beijing bureau says there has been an increase in telecoms fraud during the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:00pm, 12 Dec 2020Updated: 10:25pm, 12 Dec 2020

More than 21,500 people were arrested and almost US$154 million seized during a year-long investigation led by Interpol to crack down on telecoms fraud and other scams.

Law enforcement agencies in 35 countries, including China, supported the operation, code-named First Light.

“This operation was supported by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and also Interpol’s National Central Bureau in Beijing, which provided very active and significant support,” Jose De Gracia, Interpol’s assistant director of criminal networks, said in an interview.

“They were the key to developing this operation.”

Duan Daqi, head of the Interpol bureau in Beijing, said in a press release that there had been an increase in telecoms and social engineering fraud during the Covid-19 pandemic, but Operation First Light had been successful in curbing crimes like telephone and online scams.

This was the first time such an operation had been conducted on a global scale but similar investigations had been ongoing in Asia since 2013, Interpol said.

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