Zambia Arrests 79 in Cybercrime Raid, Including 35 Ugandans and 11 Chinese Nationals

**Lusaka.** A Joint Security Taskforce has arrested 79 people, including 35 Ugandan nationals and 11 Chinese nationals, in an operation targeting a suspected cybercrime network operating in Lusaka. The taskforce carrying out the arrests is made up of the Zambia Police Service, the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC), the Department of Immigration, the Zambia Cyber Security Agency and other security institutions. The operation forms part of an ongoing effort by Zambian authorities to clamp down on cyber-enabled crime, which has become a growing concern across the region in recent years. Of the 79 people taken in, 35 are Ugandan nationals and 11 are Chinese nationals, according to the operation's reported breakdown. The nationalities of the remaining suspects, and the exact nature of the charges they face, had not been fully detailed at the time of publishing. This is not the first time Lusaka has been the site of a large multi-agency cybercrime bust. In 2024, authorities raided a company called Golden Top Support Services in the city's Roma area, arresting 77 people and recovering more than 13,000 SIM cards. That case later resulted in the conviction and sentencing of 22 Chinese nationals for multinational cybercrimes, a case that drew international attention to Zambia's growing role as a target for foreign-run scam operations. The latest arrests point to the same pattern authorities have flagged before: foreign nationals allegedly running large-scale scam or fraud operations out of Zambian soil, often using local infrastructure and manpower while directing proceeds elsewhere. Zambia's Cyber Security Agency, established in recent years partly in response to this kind of activity, was among the agencies involved in this latest operation. Further details on the charges, the alleged scale of the network's activity, and what happens next for those arrested are expected as the case moves through the courts.