Police around the world have arrested 150 suspects involved in buying or selling illegal goods online in one of the largest-ever stings on the dark web, according to Europol.
Operation DarkHunTOR also recovered millions of euros in cash and Bitcoin, as well as drugs and guns, the European Union’s police agency said on Tuesday.
The bust stems from a German-led police sting earlier this year taking down the “world’s largest” dark web marketplace, which had been used by its alleged operator, an Australian, to facilitate the sale of drugs, stolen credit card data and malware.
Dark HunTOR, “was composed of a series of separate but complementary actions in Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States,” the Hague-based Europol said.
In the United States alone, police arrested 65 people, while 47 were held in Germany, 24 in the UK, and four each in Italy and the Netherlands, among others.
A number of those arrested “were considered high-value targets” by Europol.
Police officers also confiscated 26.7 million euros ($31m) in cash and virtual currencies, as well as 45 guns and 234kg (516 pounds) of drugs, including 25,000 Ecstasy pills.
Italian police also shut down the “DeepSea” and “Berlusconi” marketplaces, “which together boasted over 100,000 announcements of illegal products”, said Europol, which coordinated the operation together with its twin judicial agency Eurojust.
All I can see is HUNT for red october
or Dark Winter for the Hunted Hunter(Huntor?) Biden
I don't see this as good or bad. Those sites are basically the epitome of libertarianism. Things can get in the wrong hands, but I may or.may bit have used places like that decades ago and avoided products cut with shit and having to deal with shitty people face to face.
These aren't human trafficking rings or anything like that, although buying and selling firearms like that online seems asking for trouble.
Yeah, selling drugs and guns. That’s Wednesday in Texas. this isn’t a win. It’s not like they went after pedophiles or CP producers.
“Deep State Arrests Entrepreneurs engaging in consensual transactions”
This. It's deep state taking out competition if anything.
Yep. Can’t have people taking UnApproved Drugs (ie alcohol, porn, weed, pharmaceuticals, sugar) or defending themselves.
"Recovered millions" nah... you legally stole those things so now it isn't private citizens but a state or government that owns yet more stuff... doubt they try give any of it back to anyone including the I.d
Dark Hunter, huh? Hmm...
Is Tor bring openly targeted now?
Not great for those valuing anonymity.
However, great for those being trafficked with TOR's relative accessibility being used by their clientele.
I’m sorry but I just get the feeling that this is the same principle in play as ‘do more covid tests, get more positive results’
You’re only getting the results because you’re doing more tests.
If you all of a sudden start scanning the news looking for mass arrests for whatever purpose then you’re going to find them - because crime never sleeps.
But to report it like it’s indicative of anything you wish it to be is a stretch.
You could have done this thing in 2004 also. Europol/Interpol existed then and also broke up transactional criminal syndicates exploiting the web and shipping lanes et al.
Idk why most think this is good. We clean bloods will be buying groceries in the dark web in 2030 at this rate and apparently they can track people down even on TOR?
Oh wow... I feel safer already. What a joke. The war on drugs has caused more death and destruction than the drugs themselves could have ever done in a million years.