Zambia Busts 77 People in China-Backed Cybercrime Operation

Law enforcement in Zambia this week raided a Chinese company that hired unsuspecting young Zambian citizens purportedly for positions at a call center that instead was a front for cybercrime and money laundering.

The so-called Golden Top Support services company directed the employees "with engaging in deceptive conversations with unsuspecting mobile users across various platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, chatrooms and others, using scripted dialogues," Nason Banda, director general of Zambia's Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) told the BBC, which reported on the case. The DEC, law enforcement, immigration, and anti-terrorism units assisted in the investigation and arrests at the shell company.

A recent rise in bank fraud in Zambia raised alarms and led authorities there to investigate and ultimately raid the company. Banda said the "illicit operations extended beyond Zambia's borders," including victims in Singapore, Peru, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and other parts of Africa.

Authorities found some 13,000 SIM cards, 11 SIM boxes for disguising the caller's location, and firearms, and 22 Chinese citizens were arrested. Banda said Zambian workers were charged and release in order to cooperate in the investigation.