International police have arrested 288 suspects as part of an international law enforcement operation, the announcement of which was made on Tuesday (May 2). The multi-continental crackdown, coordinated by Europol and involving nine countries, was carried out under Operation SpecTor, which also led to the seizure of $54.8 million in cash and virtual currency.
The operation was conducted by multiple law enforcement agencies across the United States, Europe, and South America. The Hague-based Europol in a statement said they have “seized the illegal dark web marketplace ‘Monopoly Market’,” adding that the arrests were made of people suspected of “buying or selling drugs on the dark web.”
It added that the officials also seized more than 800 kilograms of drugs which included, over 258 kilograms of amphetamines, 43 kilograms of cocaine, 43 kilograms of MDMA and over 10 kilograms of LSD and ecstasy pills.
Out of the 288 arrests, 153 defendants were arrested in the US, said United States Attorney General Merrick Garland, while addressing a press conference on Tuesday. “Our message to criminals on the dark web is this: You can try to hide in the furthest reaches of the internet, but the Justice Department will find you and hold you accountable for your crimes,” said Garland.
The US Justice Department had also indicated that several suspects have already been convicted or were being prosecuted following Operation SpecTor and described it as the “largest international operation against darknet trafficking of fentanyl and opioids”.
“A number of these suspects were considered high-value targets,” said Europol. The US marked the highest number of arrests made out of the nine countries involved and was followed by the United Kingdom which took 55 people into custody. The other arrests were made in Germany (52), the Netherlands (10), Austria (9), France (5), Switzerland (2), Poland (1) and Brazil (1).
“A number of investigations to identify additional individuals behind dark web accounts are still ongoing,” the European policing agency stated. Operation SpecTor was also deemed more successful when compared to the 2021 operation codenamed ‘DarkHunTor’ where 150 people were arrested, which was followed by ‘DisrupTor’ (2020) with 179 arrests.
Speaking about the operation, Europol’s Executive Director, Catherine De Bolle, said “Our coalition of law enforcement authorities across three continents proves that we all do better when we work together.”
She added, “This operation sends a strong message to criminals on the dark web: international law enforcement has the means and the ability to identify and hold you accountable for your illegal activities, even on the dark web.”
(With inputs from agencies)
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
