A global operation against smuggling on the dark web (dark web) led to 288 arrests and the seizure of approximately €51 million in goods and virtual currency, the Europol.

“Law enforcement seized the illegal platform (…) +Monopoly Market+ and arrested 288 suspects involved in buying or selling drugs on the dark web,” the Hague-based European police agency said in a statement.

850 kilograms of drugs and 117 firearms were also seized, added Europol, which coordinated the international “SpecTor” operation involving nine countries.

It was preceded by a German police operation in 2021 during which the criminal infrastructure of the sales platform was seized.

“Europol compiled all intelligence information on the basis of valuable evidence provided by the German authorities,” Europol said.

That information “formed the basis of some national investigations,” the agency added.

Arrests were made in the EU – of which 52 in Germany, ten in the Netherlands and five in France -, but also in Britain (158), the United States (55), while one person was arrested in Brazil.

The sellers arrested “were also active in other illegal markets”, according to Europol, which highlighted that some of them were “high value” targets, and welcomed a new operation “further preventing the smuggling of drugs and products on the dark web”.

The drugs seized included more than 258 kilograms of amphetamines, 43 kilograms of cocaine, 43 kilograms of MDMA and more than 10 kilograms of LSD and ecstasy pills, the same source said.

“Strong Message”

The dark web, a parallel version of the internet where user anonymity is guaranteed, has been under increasing attack for some years by international police agencies.

“Hydra Market”, a platform on the dark web that was considered “the world’s largest illegal market”, with 1.23 billion euros in sales in 2020 alone, was dismantled in 2022.

In 2021, 150 people buying or selling drugs or weapons on the dark web were arrested worldwide during Operation “DarkHunTOR”.

This new operation, across three continents, “sends a strong message to dark web criminals,” Europol’s executive director Catherine de Bollet said in the statement.

“International law enforcement has the means and ability to identify and hold you accountable for your illegal activities, even on the dark web,” he continued.

Europol also announced last month the closure of “Genesis”, one of the world’s largest hacker platforms, easily accessible on the web but by invitation, which had sold millions of user identifications of stolen accounts.