Under the code name “DisrupTor”, investigators take action against drug dealers on the dark web. More than 170 suspects are arrested worldwide, and 42 arrest warrants are being executed in Germany alone. The success is mainly based on the preparatory work of the German authorities. Strike against the international drug trade in the “dark part” of the Internet: 179 suspected providers of drugs and other illegal goods were arrested in a large-scale police operation on the so-called Dark Web. In the USA alone there were 121 suspects, in Germany 42, said the European police authority Europol in The Hague. Further arrests were made in the Netherlands, Great Britain, Austria and Sweden.
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In the dark web — a part of the internet that is difficult to access and often used for criminal activities — organized gangs offer drugs as well as weapons and stolen goods. According to Europol, cash and virtual currencies valued at 6.5 million US dollars, around 5.5 million euros, as well as 500 kilograms of drugs — including heroin, cocaine and ecstasy — and 64 firearms were confiscated in the operation called “DisrupTor” . “DisrupTor” goes back to successful German investigations against providers in the dark web and their customers in 2019, as announced by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). One consequence of these investigations are numerous criminal proceedings against sellers and buyers, which are carried out both in Germany and in other European countries, said the BKA. The operation is a clear signal to Internet criminals, said the head of Europol’s Cybercrime Center, Edvardas Sileris. “The hidden Internet is no longer hidden and your anonymous activities are no longer anonymous. Law enforcement officers are determined to track down criminals, whether they operate on the street or behind a computer monitor.” According to the information, “DisrupTor” was preceded in 2019 by the smashing of the “Wall Street Market”, one of the largest illegal markets on the dark web. In April 2019, the Frankfurt am Main public prosecutor’s office and the BKA arrested three suspects who are suspected of having operated this illegal online marketplace together.