A Brazilian is among those arrested by SpecTor, a global operation that involved police forces from nine countries in combating the sale and purchase of drugs on the dark web. International cooperation led to the arrest of 288 people, the majority in the United States, in addition to the seizure of more than US$55.9 million, or approximately R$282.4 million, in cash and cryptocurrencies.
In the US, 153 people were arrested, along with 55 in the UK and 52 in Germany. The operation also took place in the Netherlands, Austria, France, Switzerland and Poland, with Europol, responsible for coordinating the work, stating that this is just the beginning. Investigations are still ongoing, with more individuals targeted in possible later phases of the operation.
The starting point was the Monopoly Market marketplace, which since 2019 has become one of the major drug trading spaces on the dark web. The site was shut down in December 2021 by German authorities and used to collect the evidence leading to the arrests announced earlier this week; originally, it was even believed that the closure of the e-commerce was part of a coup orchestrated by its administrators, with the news that the seizure was judicial coming only now.
With those arrested, in addition to money, the police also confiscated more than 850 kilos of drugs such as marijuana, LSD, ecstasy, amphetamines and MDMA, in addition to 117 firearms. The volumes agree with what Europol claims to be an operation against individuals “of interest” from the Monopoly Market, who would be responsible for carrying out tens of thousands of illicit transactions through the marketplace.
Europol director Catherine De Bolle thanked and praised the work of international agencies, pointing out that without this joint effort, across three continents, the “strong message to criminals” could not be sent. She makes it clear that, even on the dark web, it is possible to identify malicious agents, also indicating that more arrests may be on the way after what is considered one of the largest international operations in the agency’s history.
Details about the Brazilian arm of the operation were not disclosed, but the list of agencies that participated in SpecTor mentions the Civil Police of Piauí and the Federal District, indicating that the arrest may have taken place in these states. The National Secretariat for Public Security also participated, through the Cybernetic Operations Laboratory of the Directorate of Integrated Operations and Intelligence.
Source: Europol
