By Mike Corder and Lindsay Whitehurst -
The Associated Press
European and US authorities arrested some 300 people, seized $53 million and infiltrated an illegal internet sales network as part of an operation, considered the most ambitious of its kind, to dismantle a drug trafficking ring.
The operation targeting the "Monopoly Market" is the latest to bring down platforms selling drugs and other illegal goods on the so-called
dark
web, a part of the internet that uses an encrypted network that can only be accessed by through tools that guarantee the anonymity of users.
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Most of the arrests were made in the United States
, which is engulfed in an overdose crisis.
Synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, kill more Americans each year than the wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan combined.
"Our message to criminals on the dark web is this: they may try to hide in the corners of the internet, but the Department of Justice will find them and hold them accountable for their crimes," said Attorney General Merrick Garland.
The number of arrests and money seized is the highest ever for an international
Justice Department operation to stop a drug trafficking operation, he said.
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One of the defendants ran an operation in California that bought fentanyl in bulk and encapsulated it in methamphetamine pills.
This is how they managed to sell millions of these pills on the dark web, he specified.
Investigators also obtained leads from local police tracking overdose deaths, including that of a 19-year-old from Colorado who loved learning languages and building computers, FBI Director Paul Abbate said.
[A wave of fentanyl overdoses among Latino youth brings pain and frustration to this Texas town]
"But
some packages that his family believed to contain computer parts actually contained drugs
that he bought on the dark web," he explained.
"For those drugs, that boy with a promising future, sadly died of an overdose last year."
FBI agents for the first time visited consumers to warn them of the danger of overdosing on pills bought online, which often look like prescription drugs.
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They arrested 153 people in the United States, 55 in England, and 52 in Germany
, according to Europol, the European Union police body that coordinated the international operation.
"Our coalition of law enforcement authorities across three continents proves that we all work better when we work together," Europol Director Catherine De Bolle said in a statement.
"This operation sends a strong message to criminals on the dark web: international authorities have the means and the ability to identify and make them pay for their illegal activities, including on the dark web," he added.
In a series of raids in various countries, they seized 50.8 million euros (53.4 million dollars) in cash and virtual currencies, 850 kilograms and 117 firearms.
Thousands of customers could be prosecuted
In the Netherlands, where 10 suspects were arrested, the police detailed that the operation was carried out in a "separate but complementary way and developed in nine countries over the last 18 months."
The Dutch national police cybercrime team, codenamed SpecTor, took part in the operation.
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"The information that Europol shared with us, such as data on virtual currency transactions and addresses, helped us launch new investigations and enrich existing ones. Thus we identified and arrested major Dutch sellers," said team leader Nan van of Coevering.
"The success of this operation demonstrates that international cooperation is essential to combat crime on the dark web."
The seized drugs include 64 kilograms (141 pounds) of fentanyl or fentanyl-containing narcotics;
more than 258 kilograms (569 pounds) of amphetamines;
43 kilograms (95 pounds) of cocaine;
43 kilograms (95 pounds) of MDMA;
and more than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of LSD and ecstasy pills, authorities said.
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"Several investigations are ongoing to identify other people hiding behind accounts on the dark web," Europol said.
"Once law enforcement authorities gained access to sellers' long lists of buyers,
thousands of customers around the world are now also at risk of prosecution
."
The Hague-based agency drew up an intelligence plan based on evidence from Germany, which infiltrated the market's "criminal infrastructure" in December 2021.
Prior to the operation announced on Tuesday, German and US authorities dismantled the 'Hydra' dark web marketplace in April last year.