A
little over two weeks ago, I announced that the Justice Department had taken
significant enforcement actions against the largest, most violent, and most
prolific fentanyl trafficking operation in the world: the Sinaloa Cartel.
I
said then that the Justice Department is doing everything in our power, and
using every authority we have, to bring those responsible for the fentanyl
epidemic to justice.
That
includes holding accountable the drug traffickers who use the dark web to
commit their crimes.
Drug
traffickers are increasingly turning to the dark web to sell illegal drugs in
exchange for cryptocurrency. They may advertise their drugs on darknet
marketplaces as brand name pharmaceuticals. But in reality, the pills are often
counterfeit and laced with fentanyl.
The
drug traffickers are confident that, by operating anonymously on the dark web,
they can operate outside the bounds of the law.
They
are wrong.
I
am joined today by FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, DEA Principal Deputy
Administrator Lou Milione, Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale, IRS-CI Chief
Jim Lee, and FDA Investigative Services Division Chief Daniel Burke.
We
are here today to announce the results of an unprecedented international
enforcement operation led by the FBI – known as Operation SpecTor – against
traffickers of fentanyl and other drugs who operate on the dark web.
Operation
SpecTor was a coordinated international law enforcement effort, spanning three
continents, to disrupt drug trafficking on the dark web.
It
involved agencies across the federal government, along with our partners at
Europol and Eurojust, and law enforcement agencies in eight foreign countries.
It was led by the Department’s Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement –
or JCODE – team.
Across
the U.S. and eight other countries, Operation SpecTor resulted in a total of
288 arrests and the seizure of 117 illegal firearms, 850 kilograms of drugs,
and $53.4 million dollars in cash and cryptocurrency.
This
represents the most funds seized and the highest number of arrests in any
coordinated international action led by the Justice Department against drug
traffickers on the dark web.
Here
in the United States, our Operation SpecTor investigations involved the FBI,
DEA, ATF, and more than 30 U.S. Attorneys’ offices – as well as our partners at
other federal agencies.
In
the United States, we arrested 153 defendants, seized 104 illegal guns, and
seized over 200,000 pills, including those containing fentanyl.
To
give just three examples of the cases that made up this massive operation since
it began in October 2021:
In
the Central District of California, a defendant was charged with drug and
weapons offenses for his role in leading an organization that obtained bulk
fentanyl; operated labs that used high-speed pill presses to create pills
containing fentanyl and methamphetamine; and sold millions of pills to
thousands of customers on the darknet.
In
the Southern District of Florida, we secured the conviction of an individual
who distributed narcotics, including fentanyl, on various dark web
marketplaces. That defendant possessed a list of over 6,000 customers across
the United States.
And
in the Eastern District of California, two individuals were charged with drug
and money laundering offenses for their role in selling tens of thousands of
counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl in exchange for cryptocurrency
on the dark web.
I
am extremely grateful to the agents, prosecutors, analysts, and staff across
the Department who participated in this operation –including the FBI and its
JCODE team, the DEA and ATF, our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and OCDETF, and
multiple sections of the Criminal Division – including the Computer Crime and
Intellectual Property Section, the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery
Section, the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, the Fraud Section, and the
Office of International Affairs.
I
also want to thank our partners across the federal government for their
assistance in this operation – including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service,
IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the FDA Office of
Investigations, and the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network.
I
am likewise grateful to our partners at Europol and Eurojust, and to our law
enforcement partners in Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland,
Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland – without whom this operation would
not have been possible.
The
Justice Department is cracking down on criminal cryptocurrency transactions and
the online criminal marketplaces that enable them.
In
2021, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the results of another
international operation, Operation DarkHunTor, which involved the arrests of
150 Darknet drug traffickers and the seizure of $32 [million] in cash and
cryptocurrencies.
Last
year, together with our German law enforcement partners, we seized Hydra
Market, the world’s largest and longest-running illegal marketplace on the dark
web.
Earlier
this year, we led a coordinated international operation against Genesis Market,
a major criminal marketplace that enabled cybercriminals to victimize
individuals, businesses, and governments around the world.
And
today, we have announced an unprecedented international enforcement action
against drug traffickers on the dark web.
This
work will continue.
Our
message to criminals on the dark web is this: You can try to hide in the
furthest reaches of the internet, but the Justice Department will find
you and hold you accountable for your crimes.
The
Justice Department, together with our American and international partners, will
continue to disrupt and dismantle darknet markets.
We
will continue to illuminate the dark web. And we will bring to justice
those who try to hide their crimes there. I am now pleased to turn the podium
over to FBI Deputy Director Abbate.
You
can read about the dark web takedown via the below link:
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