India, Dec. 28 -- When 574 suspected cybercriminals are apprehended across 19 nations in a single coordinated sweep, the global policing community takes notice-precisely what unfolded during INTERPOL's Operation Sentinel, a month-long offensive against cybercrime networks traversing Africa, spanning from October 27 to November 27 this year. For Indian readers immersed in policing, intelligence and internal security, this operation transcends mere continental statistics; it embodies a template, a warning and an opportunity interwoven into one tapestry of digital defence.

Operation Sentinel manifested with uncommon clarity of focus. Rather than confronting "cybercrime" as an amorphous all-encompassing threat, INTERPOL and its African count...