HARARE—Zimbabwe’s state security apparatus has delivered a decisive blow against cybercrime after the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) orchestrated a brilliant sting operation to bust a sophisticated WhatsApp fraud syndicate. The group had been ruthlessly targeting high-profile individuals, including top government officials and prominent businessmen, using cloned accounts.
The real story of the incident is an intelligence masterstroke. Contrary to initial widespread speculation that CIO Director-General Fulton Mangwanya had personally lost R1.5 million (or R800,000) in a scam leveraging gold baron Pedzisayi Scott Sakupwanya’s name, sources confirm the money was never genuinely lost.
Instead, the large sum was intentionally used by the CIO as a strategic bait to ensnare the criminals. An intelligence insider revealed, “The money was used in an operation to catch the scammers. It was a bait to catch the crooks,” confirming that the alleged ringleader, Desmond Mangena, walked straight into the snare.
The fraudsters, posing as representatives for Sakupwanya, contacted Director-General Mangwanya, instructing him to deposit funds into an account to facilitate a supposed business venture. Little did they know they were communicating with CIO agents who were already preparing the bust, and the suspects were apprehended shortly after attempting the transaction. Those arrested in the successful sting include the alleged kingpin Desmond Mangena, as well as Blessing Vava, Prince James, and Solomon Jokonya.
The gang’s success was built on sophisticated technological deception, specifically the cloning of high-profile WhatsApp accounts to create legitimate-looking profiles. Their methods for achieving this included installing WhatsApp on a secondary phone and exploiting the “link to an existing account” feature to scan the target’s QR code, or utilizing built-in smartphone features like “Dual Messenger” or “App Twin” to run two independent WhatsApp instances on one device. This operation is being hailed as a major victory for Zimbabwe’s security agency, sending a clear message to those who use technology to threaten the financial security of the nation’s elite
