ACCORDING to Interpol, a first-of-its-kind cybercrime crackdown dubbed Operation Ramz led to 201 arrests across the Middle East and North Africa. The operation ran from October 2025 to February 2026, spanning 13 countries in the MENA region. It targeted phishing and malware threats as well as cyber scams, with the aim of reducing financial and personal harm in the region.
In addition to the 201 individuals arrested, authorities identified a further 382 suspects and 3867 victims, and seized 53 servers used in cybercriminal activities. Almost 8000 pieces of data and intelligence were disseminated to participating countries to support ongoing investigations. On-site operations took place in Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Algeria and Morocco, with authorities also dismantling a phishing-as-a-service operation in Algeria and seizing devices containing banking data in Morocco.