U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced, in a news release this week, that Operation SpecTor led to 288 arrests, a record for a Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) operation and almost twice as many as the previous operation.
The results of the operation, mentioned in an ICE news release, were unveiled by a partnership that included Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and its J-CODE team.
“Operation SpecTor was a coordinated international law enforcement effort, spanning three continents, to disrupt drug trafficking on the dark web and 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,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in the news release.
“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,” he added.
According to the news release, the coordinated global effort, dubbed Operation SpecTor, netted 117 guns, 850 kilograms of drugs, 64 kilograms of drugs laced with fentanyl, and $53.4 million in real and digital money.
“The illicit movement of opioids poses a significant threat to public health and safety, whether by known transnational criminal gang members across international borders or anonymously through darknet spaces,” said P.J. Lechleitner, the ICE senior official performing the duties of deputy director, in the release.
ICE also noted that the investigation spanned three continents, with a goal of putting an end to fentanyl and opioid trafficking.
“Our HSI special agents, alongside federal and international partners, continue to aggressively investigate, disrupt and dismantle networks responsible for trafficking dangerous, deadly narcotics and other contraband across global communities we are charged with protecting,” Lechleitner said.
“We will continue to pursue bad actors engaged in these crimes to ensure they face justice while protecting victims from these lethal substances,” he added.
Across the U.S., Europe and South America, the operation built upon successes of previous projects to bring down darknet infrastructure and give authorities worldwide information to drive their investigations, the release stated.
Moreover, ICE also noted that the European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) of Europol and J-CODE continue to compile information that will include relevant companies.
