The EU’s law enforcement agency, Europol, coordinated the Spector operation. It outperformed 2020’s DisrupTor mission’s 179 arrests.
A global assault on dark web drug and commodities trade has resulted in 55 UK arrests.
In total, nearly 300 perpetrators have been detained in countries such as the United States (153), Germany (52), the Netherlands (10), Austria (9), France (5), Switzerland (2), Poland (1), and Brazil (1).
All of them are suspected of using the illegal marketplace known as Monopoly Market, where substances such as amphetamines and cocaine were sold and purchased.
During searches coordinated by the EU law enforcement agency Europol and carried out by British authorities including the National Crime Agency and National Police Chiefs’ Council, over £43 million in cash and cryptocurrencies were seized.
Officers also discovered 117 firearms and 850kg of narcotics, including 43kg of MDMA and 10kg of LSD and ecstasy pills.
Europol said SpecTor was its most effective dark web drug trafficking operation, topping DisrupTor’s 179 arrests in 2020.
Many of those detained were designated “high-value targets”
German authorities provided the intelligence used to investigate the suspects, which the agency said proved the importance of international cooperation in the fight against online crime.
Catherine De Bolle, the executive director, stated, “This operation sends a strong message to criminals on the dark web. International law enforcement can discover and prosecute dark web criminals.
Europol revealed that investigations continue to identify additional suspects behind Monopoly Market accounts.
As a result of law enforcement’s access to the extensive customer lists of vendors during the operation. Thousands of consumers around the world are also at risk of prosecution.
