The alleged gang members, using fake identities online, extorted money from victims after gaining their trust and promising marriage. The suspected criminals were Nigerians who had lived in Germany for many years.

Police in Germany announced Wednesday that 11 Nigerian men suspected of being members of a criminal syndicate that orchestrated large-scale dating scams were arrested during nationwide raids.

The Black Axe is internationally famous for different criminal activities such as “human-trafficking, fraud, prostitution, and drug-trafficking.”

Bavarian police said in a statement that the group was involved in “multiple areas of criminal activity” globally.

In Germany, the organisation was focusing especially on large-scale dating scams and money laundering, the force added.

The 11 suspects were detained on Tuesday in raids across the German region of Bavaria following a police probe that lasted more than two years.

The police raids targeted 19 properties in total, including both homes and refugee shelters.

The arrested suspects are Nigerian citizens, but most of them have been in Germany for many years. The alleged gang members are between the ages of 29 and 53.

Authorities said that the fraudsters created fake profiles on social networks and dating platforms where they gained the trust of victims and promised marriage after requesting money. The fraudsters transferred money from fraudsters to Black Axe in Nigeria “via financial agents”.

“Using false identities, the fraudsters for example signalled their intention to marry and in the course of further contact repeatedly demand money under various pretexts,” the Bavarian police said in its statement.

The criminal gang Black Axe, whose members are estimated at around 30,000 worldwide, is reported to “camouflage” their activity disguised as charity.  They operate under the auspices of the Neo Black Movement of Africa.

According to police, Black Axe has a strong influence on Nigerian politics and public administration.

An investigation of Black Axe by BBC in 2021 unearthed evidence that the group had infiltrated politics in Nigeria and ran a killing operation spanning the globe.

The police said the deception schemes used by the scammers amount to a “modern form of marriage fraud”.

 In 2023 alone, there have been 450 dating scams in Bavaria and the victims lost about 5.3 million euros ($5.7 million).