Six Nigerian men accused of running romance scams against more than 100 women in the United States have been extradited from South Africa to face U.S. charges.

The suspects were arrested in South Africa in 2021. South African authorities say they are alleged members of the Black Axe organised crime network and are wanted in the United States on wire fraud and money laundering charges. Police put the alleged losses at more than R100 million (about $6.2 million). Victims reportedly included pensioners and businesspeople.

According to the Hawks (South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation), the men used sophisticated online relationships to build trust before obtaining money. They were moved from a Cape Town correctional facility to Cape Town International Airport and handed over to FBI and U.S. Secret Service officials. Interpol South Africa helped coordinate the transfer.

Black Axe originated as a Nigerian student fraternity in the late 1970s and later became associated with organised cyber-enabled fraud, including romance, investment, and related schemes. Separate U.S. cases have already targeted alleged Cape Town-based members of the same network. One prominent figure from that group was extradited earlier and appeared in federal court in New Jersey.

South African officials described the handover as an example of cross-border cooperation against transnational organised crime. The men remain accused; they have not been convicted. U.S. prosecutors will now decide how the cases proceed in American courts.