Legislation enforcement companies world wide just lately seized and shut down an unlawful darkish net market known as Monopoly Market as a part of efforts to crack down on illicit cryptocurrency transactions, in line with a Might 2 Europol press launch.
Legislation enforcement seized $53.4 million in money and crypto as a part of the operation — dubbed SpecTor — and arrested 288 distributors that have been primarily promoting medicine and firearms via Monopoly Market and different comparable web sites.
Of the 288 arrests, 153 have been made within the U.S., 55 within the U.Ok., and 52 in Germany — with one California-based man accounting for over $2 million price of gross sales of methamphetamines and fentanyl.
The remaining arrests have been unfold out throughout the Netherlands, Austria, France, Switzerland, Poland, and Brazil.
Legislation enforcement companies throughout eight nations have been concerned in Operation SpecTor.
Operation SpecTor
In response to the Europol, Operation SpecTor started in October 2021 and is a part of the identical efforts by legislation enforcement companies that led to the seizure and shutdown of Hydra and Genesis Market in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Hydra was the most important unlawful market working on the darkish net on the time, whereas Genesis was the most important id theft market.
Much like the operation in opposition to Hydra, German police initially seized the server infrastructure of Monopoly Market in December 2021 and subsequently started a “honey pot” operation in collaboration with the Europol and different companies world wide.
The operation focused “excessive worth” distributors that have been supplying tens of millions price of unlawful items to a number of markets throughout the globe.
In response to the U.S. Justice Division, Operation SpecTor was an “unprecedented” enforcement motion by a consortium of U.S. and worldwide legislation enforcement in opposition to darkish net drug markets and illicit crypto transactions.
Legal professional Common Merrick Garland stated throughout a press convention:
“The Justice Division is cracking down on felony cryptocurrency transactions, and the net felony marketplaces that allow them.”
Merrick stated the DoJ’s efforts to fight the fentanyl epidemic and the Sinaloa Cartel have revealed that criminals are more and more turning to the darkish net and promoting medicine in change for cryptocurrencies.
He stated that criminals suppose promoting anonymously on darkish web marketplaces will allow them to dodge the legislation and this has turn into a pattern in recent times. Nevertheless, the outcomes of current operations by legislation enforcement show that anonymity won’t shield these criminals.
He added that the DoJ intends to seek out each felony on the darkish net, regardless of the place they attempt to conceal within the “farthest reaches of the web.”
