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One of the largest darknet market vendor sting operations in recent history saw the arrest of 150 vendors associated with the now-defunct DarkMarket on Monday, attracting massive attention from the world’s biggest news media outlets. The internationally-coordinated raid, which involved law enforcement efforts from nine countries, also netted around 234 kilograms in drugs, 45 guns, and more than $31.6 million in cash.
Dubbed ‘Operation Dark Huntor,’ the raid attracted media attention globally, hitting front pages of newspapers in the affected countries, which include the US, UK, Germany, Australia, Bulgaria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Out of these countries, the US saw the most arrests at 65, followed by 47 in Germany and 24 in the UK. One of the biggest distribution hubs identified in the operation was said to be located in Houston, Texas.
A well-produced video posted on the FBI’s official YouTube account claims to contain footage of arrests related to the operation while offering a stern warning to darknet market vendors.
“The FBI’s Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team was established in 2018 to peel back perceived anonymity of dark web drug dealers, leading to arrests like these,” reads text in the video as scenes depicting arrests unfold. “Targets in JCODE enforcement operations buys and sell illegal drugs on dark web markets…
Screenshot from FBI YouTube video explaining US authority actions in Monday’s raid.
DarkMarket, which was taken offline in January after its operator was arrested in Germany, was considered to be “the biggest darknet market” at the time. The market’s takedown was also the result of a months-long multi-national criminal investigation, involving law enforcement from seven countries, coordinated by the DEA, FBI, and Europol. The 150 vendors arrested in yesterday’s raid represent roughly 6% of the 2,400 total vendors at DarkMarket at the time of its closure.
Among the approximately 516 pounds of drugs confiscated by authorities during the raid were 25,000 ecstasy pills and thousands of pills containing amphetamine (Adderall), alprazolam (Xanax), and oxycodone (OxyContin). A US deputy attorney general stated that over 90% of confiscated pills in the country during the raid contained “counterfeit opioids,” such as fentanyl.
