Authorities from three continents have joined forces to sign a historic coup against the dark web or deep internet. In an operation coordinated by Europol and in which nine countries participated, law enforcement have arrested 288 suspects involved in the purchase or sale of drugs, which operated through the Monopoly Market website.
As reported by Europol, in the operation called SpecTor, more than 50.8 million euros in cash and virtual currencies, 850 kg of drugs and 117 firearms have been seized. Among the drugs seized by the agents, they found more than 258 kg of amphetamines, 43 kg of cocaine, 43 kg of MDMA and more than 10 kg of LSD and ecstasy pills.
“This operation sends a strong message to dark web criminals: international law enforcement has the means and ability to identify you and hold you accountable for your illegal activities, including on the dark web,” said Europol Executive Director Catherine. De Bolle, in a statement.
For her part, the administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Anne Milgram, recalled that the Mexican cartels of Sinaloa and Jalisco, as well as other global networks, “are killing Americans by sending fentanyl to the US. USA.”
This operation has been carried out in several European countries and also in collaboration with the FBI, which speaks of the “greatest number of funds seized and the greatest number of arrests than in any other action” against drug traffickers on the dark web. There are accusations in Europe, the US and Brazil.
Europol has been compiling intelligence packages based on evidence provided by the German authorities, who successfully seized the criminal infrastructure of the market in December 2021. These target packages, created by cross-comparing and analyzing the data and The evidence collected served as the basis for hundreds of national investigations, explain the European authorities.
The arrested Monopoly Market sellers were also active in other illicit markets, further impeding the trading of illicit drugs and goods on other dark web sites.
Before shutting down Monopoly Market, the German and US authorities also shut down Hydra, which was the highest-grossing dark web marketplace with an estimated revenue of €1.23 billion, in April 2022. The closure of this platform accounted for 23 million euros. euros in cryptocurrencies seized by the German authorities.
