A targeted international operation against online sextortion has led to the arrest of 22 suspects in Nigeria, including two men allegedly linked to the suicide of a 16-year-old boy from New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
The teenager, who died in 2023, was reportedly lured into a social media conversation with someone posing as a European woman. What began as innocent banter quickly escalated into the exchange of sexualised images. The boy was coerced into sending an explicit image, which was then used to threaten him. He was told to pay $500 or the image would be sent to his family and friends.
Tragically, the boy died by suicide within seven hours of receiving the threats. Police discovered the messages during the investigation and described them as “horrific.”
“These crimes are calculated and devastating, often pushing vulnerable young people into extreme distress,” the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said.
The case formed part of Operation Artemis, a global sextortion crackdown led by the FBI, with support from the AFP, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Two AFP officers were deployed to Nigeria, where the two men linked to the NSW case were arrested in a slum village. While charged over sextortion, they have not been charged in connection with the teen’s death.
An additional 20 Nigerian nationals were also arrested. The AFP reported a notable drop in sextortion cases following the arrests in early 2023, although the threat to Australian children remains ongoing.
In 2024 alone, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE) received over 1,500 sextortion-related reports. Since 2021, more than 20 teen suicides in the US have also been linked to similar cases.
To support young people, the AFP’s ThinkUKnow program offers a sextortion response kit for teens aged 13 to 17, available online through the ThinkUKnow and ACCCE websites.
Support Resources: If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact Lifeline at 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at 1300 22 4636.
