South African police said that six Nigerian nationals, tied to an organized criminal network accused of swindling American women out of more than $6 million through online romance scams, will be extradited to the United States on Friday.

The men, apprehended in the South African city of Cape Town in 2021, are scheduled to be transferred to FBI officials on Friday and conveyed to the United States, where they will face charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

They are accused of belonging to a criminal network known as the Black Axe, which Interpol describes as being part of criminal groups responsible for a substantial share of the world’s cyber-enabled financial fraud, often through romance scams, cryptocurrency and investment scams.

According to South African police, the men are alleged to have targeted in excess of 100 women across the U.S., defrauding them of upwards of $6 million by means of online romance or love scams.

Among the alleged victims were pensioners and businesspeople who were reportedly targeted through sophisticated online relationships.

"Through Interpol South Africa's coordination, the six individuals will be transferred today from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport, where they will be handed over to officials from the FBI and the United States Secret Service, who arrived in South Africa this morning," stated police spokesperson Katlego Mogale.

A recent Interpol operation targeting West African organized crime groups resulted in the arrest of 58 people and the identification of 263 suspects linked to various criminal networks involved in similar crimes, the multinational police body said last month.

The operation was designed to disrupt money laundering, pinpoint high-value targets, confiscate assets, and facilitate arrests and prosecution.

In South Africa, authorities conducted raids on seven premises in Johannesburg associated with a syndicate that perpetrated romance and investment frauds targeting retirees in English-speaking countries.

Interpol reported that, during that operation in South Africa, police apprehended 39 individuals, confiscated $2.67 million, and froze in excess of 250 bank accounts.