The resulting arrests and seizures placed sizable amounts of weapons, drugs, crypto, and cash under the control of the authorities.
Europol announced on May 3 the conclusion of Operation SpecTor, which spans through multiple jurisdictions and recently brought down Monopoly Market, another dark market that sprang up after previous ones were hated.
Hundreds of Arrests and Seizures
In total, 117 firearms, 850 kg worth of drugs, and 50 million euros worth of cash and crypto were seized across all jurisdictions.
288 dark web vendors arrested in major marketplace seizure.The #MonopolyMarket vendors arrested were also active on other illicit marketplaces.— Europol (@Europol) May 2, 2023
Authorities Promise Further Results
Commenting on the situation, Europol’s Executive Director Catherine de Bolle stated that cooperation between members of the international community has never been stronger and will continue to improve in order to yield similar results.
“Our coalition of law enforcement authorities across three continents proves that we all do better when we work together. 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.”
These results show an increased efficiency in cooperation across jurisdictions. Operation SpecTor resulted in more arrests than either of its predecessors, DisrupTor, which resulted in 179 arrests in 2020, and Dark HunTor, which took place in 2021 and resulted in 150 arrests.