A joint operation coordinated by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, with support from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, has resulted in the arrest of 288 dark web vendors.

The operation, code-named “SpecTor,” resulted from the previously unknown seizure of a dark web marketplace called Monopoly Market in December 2021. Seizure is the key word as Monopoly Market wasn’t immediately shut down but instead continued to operate under the control of law enforcement, which used its control of the site to gather data and evidence leading to the arrest of vendors. The dark web is a shady part of the internet reachable with special software.

Monopoly Market was founded around 2019 as a drug-only market, with most online references suggesting that it wasn’t a particularly large site. With some sense of irony, it was previously described by Dark Net One as caring “about the well-being of their customers as all users are required to jump through a series of hoops forcing them to acknowledge they may be getting phished if they got their link from a questionable source.” The site had eight categories, split into benzos, cannabis, dissociatives, ecstasy, pharmaceuticals, psychedelics, steroids and stimulants.

Some 153 Monopoly Market vendors were arrested in the U.S., followed by 55 in the U.K., 52 in Germany, 10 in the Netherlands, nine in Austria, five in France, two in Switzerland and one each in both Poland and Brazil. While the arrests were made based on the Monopoly Market investigation, it is noted that the vendors were also active on other illicit marketplaces.

Authorities seized the equivalent of 50.8 million Euros ($55.93 million) in cash and cryptocurrency, 850 kilograms of drugs and 117 firearms. The seized drugs included 258 kilograms of amphetamines, 43 kg of cocaine, 43 kg of MDMA and over 10 kg of LSD and ecstasy pills.

The arrests may not stop there, however, as law enforcement is now using lists and data gathered from the vendors arrested to track down their customers.

As part of the operation, German police, in conjunction with U.S. law enforcement authorities, also shut down Hydra Market in April 2022. Hydra Market was claimed to have a market share of around 80% at the time, making it the world’s largest dark web marketplace.

“This operation sends a strong message to criminals on the dark web: international law enforcement has the means and the ability to identify and hold you accountable for your illegal activities, even on the dark web,” Europol’s Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said in a statement today.

Image: Europol