Global Dark Web Sting Sees 270 Arrested

A new large-scale law enforcement operation to disrupt fentanyl and opioid trafficking, as well as the sales of other illicit goods and services on the dark web, resulted in 270 arrests of dark web vendors and buyers across four continents.

This effort was led by Europol as part of Operation RapTor and involved government agencies from ten countries (Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US).

Europol Hosts Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce for the Crackdown

The suspects were identified through coordinated investigations based on intelligence from previous takedowns of several dark web marketplaces, including Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia and Kingdom Markets.

Many had conducted thousands of sales on illicit marketplaces, using encryption tools and cryptocurrencies to cover their tracks.

Europol supported the takedown action by compiling and analysing intelligence packages based on data from the three seized marketplaces.

These packages were then shared with national authorities in the Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce framework, hosted at Europol’s headquarters, to enable targeted investigations.

The crackdown also allowed the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), part of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team, to sanction Behrouz Parsarad, an Iranian national.

Parsarad is accused of being behind Nemesis Market. A federal grand jury in Ohio’s Northern District handed down an indictment against Parsarad on charges related to narcotics trafficking, stemming from his dark web operations.

A Record Amount of Drug and Drug Proceeds Seized

Operation RapTor officers also seized $184m in cash and cryptocurrencies and “a record amount of illegal drugs, firearms and drug trafficking proceeds,” according to a public statement by DOJ on May 22.

These included:

• Over two tons of drugs, including amphetamines, cocaine, ketamine, opioids and cannabis
• Over 180 firearms, imitation weapons, tasers and knives
• 12,500 counterfeit products
• Over four tons of illegal tobacco

Cybercrime Fragmentation in the Dark Web

According to Europol’s statement on May 22, the operation’s results demonstrated a shift in the dark web landscape, where criminal actors are now opting for smaller, independent shops to circumvent marketplace fees and minimize their risk of detection as traditional dark web marketplaces come under pressure.

Edvardas Šileris, Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), highlighted that, regardless of new trends, “Operation RapTor shows that the dark web is not beyond the reach of law enforcement. Through close cooperation and intelligence sharing, officers across four continents identified and arrested suspects, sending a clear message to those who think they can hide in the shadows.”

Operation RapTor builds on Operation SpecTor, a 2023 effort also coordinated by Europol’s Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce, which led to 288 arrests and the seizure of $53.4m in cash and virtual currencies, 850 kg of drugs and 117 firearms.