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International Police Seize $4.9M in Crypto From Alleged Darknet Drug Traffickers

Operation Dark HunTor cracked down on criminals involved in the sale of tens of thousands of illicit goods and services throughout Europe, Australia and the U.S.

FBI agent working on his computer in office
FBI agent working on his computer in office

International police including the FBI-led Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) and Europol have busted a group of 150 alleged darknet drug traffickers, seizing $4.9 million in cryptocurrencies.

The operation dubbed “Operation Dark HunTor” cracked down on criminals who were involved in the sale of tens of thousands of illicit goods and services across Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S.

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The U.S.-Italian operations seized €3.6 million (US$4.17 million) in cryptocurrencies, while police seized approximately $1 million in drug proceeds that included $700,000 in cryptocurrency.

Overall, Operation Dark HunTor resulted in the seizure of over $31.6 million in both cash and virtual currencies, approximately 234 kilograms of drugs worldwide and 45 firearms.

The U.S. Department of Justice reports darknet vendor accounts were linked to individuals selling illicit goods on active marketplaces, as well as inactive darknet marketplaces such as Dream, WallStreet, White House, DeepSea and Dark Market.

“Criminal darknet markets exist so drug dealers can profit at the expense of others’ safety. The FBI is committed to working with our JCODE and Europol law enforcement partners to disrupt those markets and the borderless, worldwide trade in illicit drugs they enable,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray in a statement.

Read more: Europol Coordinates Arrest of Ransomware Gang in Ukraine, Seizing $1.3M in Crypto

Tanzeel Akhtar

Tanzeel Akhtar has contributed to The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes Africa, Financial Times, The Street, Citywire, Investing.com, Euromoney, Yahoo! Finance, Benzinga, Kitco News, African Business Magazine, Hedge Week, Campden Family Office, Modern Investor, Spear's Wealth Management Magazine, Global Investor, ETF.com, ETF Stream, CIO UK, Funds Global Asia, Portfolio Institutional, Interactive Investor, Bitcoin Magazine, CryptoNews.com, Bitcoin.com, The Local, The Next Web, Mining Journal, Money Marketing, Marketing Week and more. Tanzeel trained as a foreign correspondent at the University of Helsinki, Finland and newspaper journalist at the University of Central Lancashire, UK. She holds a BA (Honours) in English Literature from the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and completed a semester abroad as an ERASMUS student at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She is NCTJ Qualified - Media Law, Public Administration and passed the Shorthand 100WPM with distinction. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.

Tanzeel Akhtar