Dark Web's Darkest Hour: Massive Crypto Seizure And Arrests Leave Criminals Shaking In Fear

The U.S. and international law enforcement agencies have made 288 arrests and confiscated more than $53 million in cash and cryptocurrencies, marking an "unprecedented" crackdown on dark-web drug activities in a joint effort named Operation SpecTor.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the news during a press conference on Tuesday, emphasizing the Justice Department's focus on combating illicit cryptocurrency transactions and online criminal marketplaces.

Operation SpecTor, which alluded to the dark-web browsing protocol, led to the seizure of dozens of firearms, more than 850 kilograms of drugs and the closure of the Monopoly Market, a dark-web marketplace.

The operation was initiated in October 2021 and coordinated with Europol.

Mor than 100 federal operations and prosecutions have taken place in the U.S., with 153 domestic suspects arrested, including a Californian man accused of selling nearly $2 million worth of fentanyl and methamphetamine on the dark web.

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German police first took down the marketplace's online infrastructure in December 2021, collaborating with Europol and global law enforcement agencies to target high-value criminals engaged in drug trafficking and illegal goods sales worldwide.

Operation SpecTor followed previous efforts that dismantled the Hydra darknet marketplace in 2022 and the Genesis Market identity-theft site in 2023.

Garland warned criminals attempting to hide in the farthest corners of the internet that the Justice Department would track them down and hold them responsible for their offenses.

Participating agencies included the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigative team, and law enforcement authorities from Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland and the U.K.

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