200,000 pills, 234 kilos of drugs and 45 firearms: the spectacular coup against drug lords on the Internet

It is a joint operation of Europol and the US Department of Justice against some of the main drug dealers on the Dark Web that has been developed simultaneously in 8 countries of the world

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It is one of the most ambitious and complex international operations against drug trafficking through the Dark Web in memory. Baptized as the operacin Dark HunTOR, it is a joint blow against the big drug dealers through the Internet that has resulted in arrests and seizures in eight different countries under the coordination of Europol and the United States Department of Justice.

In total, more than 200,000 pills, 234 kilos of drugs, 45 firearms and more than 31 million in cryptocurrencies as a result of an operation for which more than 102 search warrants have been necessary, which have resulted in more than 150 arrests between the different countries that have participated in the operation.

Unlike traditional drug trafficking networks that operate face-to-face with their own distribution and sales networks, the drug business Drug trafficking through the Dark Web obeys a business logic more similar to that of large online sales portals such as Ebay or Amazon: the products are sent through postal mail or by courier services, payments and transactions are made through the internet using cryptocurrencies and users can write reviews and rate quality and the quantity of the drug that has been delivered to them.

“Criminals use the dark web to sell and ship narcotics and other dangerous substances around the world, often using the mail and private delivery companies to deliver these products, “said the Chief Inspector of the United States, Gary Barksdale.

A criminal structure that does not understand borders and for which both sellers and buyers protect their anonymity using the Tor network.

“Today we are faced with a series of new and growing threats such as that traffickers expanding into the digital world and they use the Dark Internet to sell dangerous drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, “said the administrator of the DEA, Anne Milgram.

For this reason, when operations are carried out against these networks such as Dark Hunter, it is necessary for the police of different countries to act in a coordinated manner. For this reason, in this case, it is an operation in which different government agencies of the United States have participated, such as the DEA and the FBI, in addition to the police of Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Among the seized material are more than 200,000 pills corresponding to different substances such as xtasis, fentaline, oxycodine, hydrocodine and counterfeit drugs.

Likewise, the authorities have been able to seize 152.1 kilos of methamphetamine, 21.6 kilos of cocaine, 32.5 kilos of MDMA and 26.9 kilos of opiums.

Camels operated on notorious drug trafficking portals on the Dark Web. Some of them inactive and others still operational. Some portals among which are Dream, Wall Street, Dark Market, White House, DeepSea y Berlusconi.

“The goal of operations like today’s is to send a message to criminals operating on the Dark Web: law enforcement agencies have the means and global alliances to expose them and hold them accountable for their illegal activities, even if they carry them out. on the Dark Web“, has assured the executive director of operations of Europol, Jean-Philippe Lecouffe.