US, Europol arrest 270 dark web drug traffickers in Operation RapTor

International law enforcement agencies joined together to arrest 270 peoples as part of a global operation to take down a criminal network that sold drugs through the dark web. 

U.S. and EU law enforcement seized more than $200 million and 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics alongside 180 firearms as part of the international effort dubbed Operation RapTor. The action built upon the previous takedowns of dark web marketplaces like Incognito, Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia and Kingdom Markets.

“Operation RapTor shows that the dark web is not beyond the reach of law enforcement,” said head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre Edvardas Šileris. “Through close cooperation and intelligence sharing, officers across three continents identified and arrested suspects, sending a clear message to those who think they can hide in the shadows."

Europol said there were 130 arrests in the U.S. and 42 in Germany alongside multiple in the U.K., France, Austria, the Netherlands, Brazil, Switzerland, Spain and South Korea.

The arrests included the dark web vendors, buyers and administrators who populated marketplaces that were previously taken down over the last five years. 

U.S. and European law enforcement agencies continued to compile evidence after the takedowns and were able to identify vendors and buyers, allowing for “a series of coordinated, but separate, law enforcement investigations,” according to the U.S. Justice Department.

Many of those arrested facilitated thousands of sales on the marketplaces and tried to hide their identities through encryption tools and cryptocurrency. 

The DOJ provided dozens of individual examples of recent arrests and charges that were part of Operation RapTor, including recent drug-related convictions in New York, California and Virginia. 

Hundreds of state and federal agencies in the U.S., Europe and Asia were involved in the global takedown, with the FBI leading the coordination to “dismantle major criminal enterprises reliant on the darknet for trafficking opioids and other illicit narcotics, along with identifying and dismantling their supply chains.”

“This historic international seizure of firearms, deadly drugs, and illegal funds will save lives,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Criminals cannot hide behind computer screens or seek refuge on the dark web – this Justice Department will identify and eliminate threats to the American people regardless of where they originate.”

European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner explained that the operation is proof that many criminal gangs now operate “offline and online, internationally and locally, using technology to their full advantage.”