Dismantling a network that sold "killer pills" from the shadows of the Internet

By Pete Williams -

A police operation in the United States and Europe dismantled a criminal network that sold drugs on the Darknet [a part of the internet whose access is anonymous and is more difficult to control] and allowed 150 people to be detained and 500 pounds of drugs seized, according to an announcement. this Tuesday the Department of Justice.

In the operation, 31 million dollars in cash and cryptocurrencies were also confiscated in 14 states and seven European countries.

One of the caches seized during the joint operation between the US and Europe against the sale of drugs over the Internet.FBI via NBC News

65 people were arrested in the United States and 85 in Europe, accused of illegally selling fentanyl, oxycodone, amphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy.

The arrests abroad took place in Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Australian authorities also cooperated.

Among the U.S. targets were the managers of two Darknet accounts from Florida and Rhode Island, which advertised and

, the Justice Department explained.

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Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the operation was directed against "those who search in the shadows of the Internet to sell killer pills around the world."

The sale of drugs on the dark web

, he stressed, because more and more people are turning to it to buy illegal substances. 

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The researchers enlisted the help of data obtained during the decommissioning earlier this year of DarkMarket, the world's largest illegal marketplace online.

German authorities blocked the site and

, they said.

Anne Milgram, who heads the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), noted that illegally sold drugs are contributing to an alarming trend in the United States.

"

, with 250 people dying every day," he said.

[What is fentanyl and why is it so dangerous to health]

The DEA issued a rare public safety alert last month warning of the spread of fake prescription pills, made to look like drugs like Oxycontin, Xanax and Adderall, that actually contain fentanyl and methamphetamine.

"They are killing unsuspecting Americans at an unprecedented rate," the agency reiterated.