International Law Enforcement Taskforce Seize $31.6 million in Darknet Operation

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the seizure of over $31.6 million in cash and virtual currency, 234 kilograms of drugs including cocaine and MDMA, and 45 firearms in the international investigation coined Operation Dark HunTor.

Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Lisa Monaco joined Deputy Executive Director (DED) of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL) Jean-Philippe Lecouff in announcing the results of Operation Dark HunTor, an international effort to disrupt opioid trafficking on the Darknet.

The operation led to 150 arrests worldwide, and builds on the success of Operation DisrupTor and the takedown of DarkMarket, the world's largest illegal marketplace only accessible through specialized anonymity-providing tools.

Operation Dark HunTor was a 10-month coordinated operation on three continents led by Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) – an international law enforcement partnership, in collaboration with more than 12 law enforcement agencies worldwide.

“This 10-month massive international law enforcement operation spanned across three continents and involved dozens of U.S. and international law enforcement agencies to send one clear message to those hiding on the Darknet peddling illegal drugs: there is no dark internet. We can and we will shine a light,” stated DAG Monaco. “Operation Dark HunTor prevented countless lives from being lost to this dangerous trade in illicit and counterfeit drugs, because one pill can kill. The Department of Justice with our international partners will continue to crack down on lethal counterfeit opioids purchased on the Darknet.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) alleges those arrested are guilty of tens of thousands of illegal sales, and producing counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl and methamphetamine – not unlike the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) historic seizure of more than 1.8 million fentanyl-laced pills, as previously reported in FEDagent. The DOJ reports the COVID-19 Pandemic produced a surge of opioid transactions on the darknet.

“The point of operations such as the one today is to put criminals operating on the dark web on notice: the law enforcement community has the means and global partnerships to unmask them and hold them accountable for their illegal activities, even in areas of the dark web,” stated EUROPOL DED Lecouffe.

Investigations remain ongoing.