Operation SpecTor was an operation coordinated by Europol, which involved nine countries,[1][2] including the United States,[3] Austria, France, Germany, and the Netherlands[4] to disrupt fentanyl and opioid distribution.[5] The operation targeted and took down the darknet market "Monopoly Market."
Type of site | Darknet market |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | Milomir Desnica |
| Industry | Drug Trade |
| Revenue | ~€1.23 billion |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | None |
| Launched | 2019 |
| Current status | Shut down |
Monopoly Market
editMonopoly Market was a darknet market operating from 2019 to 2021,[6] the target of the SpecTor operation, which did not require registration or depositing to an internal cryptocurrency wallet, and only accepted Monero.[7] The market was discovered to be owned by Milomir Desnica, as a result of the operation,[6] and had an estimated revenue of €1.23 billion.[4]
History
edit2019 Monopoly Market is launched by Milomir Desnica[6]
2021 Monopoly Market is shut down under the SpecTor operation, by German law enforcement[citation needed]
May 2023 288 vendors are arrested, in connection to Monopoly Market,[8] and Milomir Desnica is extradited from Austria.[6] Europol confirms Monopoly Market was shut down by German law enforcement.[9]
Nov 2023 Milomir Desnica pleads guilty to running Monopoly Market[10]
Results
editOn May 2, 2023, both the Department of Justice and Europol released the results of Operation SpecTor. In the United States, the Department of Justice's J-CODE team (with international partners) introduced the results of SpecTor, which was a monumental success, ranking the most arrests ever for any J-CODE operation.[11] Operation SpecTor resulted in the arrest of 288[12] vendors who sold drugs and other various items,[8] as well as the seizure of $53 million, 850 kg of drugs, and 117 guns.[13] The operation also resulted the extradition of the owner, Milomir Desnica, from Austria.[6] Europol announced, in addition, that the German police had taken down Monopoly Market in late 2021. The unexpected shutdown, due to no explanation from administrators of Monopoly, or government agencies, left many users to come to the conclusions that the administrators performed an exit scam.[9]
Assistance
editOperation SpecTor likely included assistance from intel on several other darknet markets, and the assistance of German law enforcement agencies, who had access to Monopoly Market infrastructure, and resulted in the shutdown of Monopoly, under the SpecTor operation, back in 2021.[9]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "End of Monopoly Market". eucrim.eu. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "Europol-led sting nabs 288 dark web vendors, haul of drugs". Reuters. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "Suspected admin of dark web drug site Monopoly Market extradited to US from Austria". AP News. 2023-06-26. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ a b "288 dark web vendors arrested in major marketplace seizure". Europol. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ staff, Local 3 News (2023-05-02). "Largest international operation against darknet trafficking of drugs results in record arrests and seizures". Local3News.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e "District of Columbia | Citizen of Croatia and Serbia Charged with Running Monopoly Drug Market on the Darknet | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2023-06-23. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ MrAdmin (2022-01-30). "Monopoly Market and Cartel Market Disappeared – Darknet Pages". Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ a b Goswami, Rohan (2023-05-02). "Drugs, guns and crypto seized, 288 arrested, in 'unprecedented' dark web crackdown". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ a b c Greenberg, Andy. "Cops Just Revealed a Record-Breaking Dark Web Dragnet". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "District of Columbia | Serbian Citizen Pleads Guilty to Running Monopoly Drug Market on the Darknet | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2023-11-08. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "Office of Public Affairs | Largest International Operation Against Darknet Trafficking of Fentanyl and Opioids Results in Record Arrests and Seizures | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "300 arrested in crackdown on dark web 'Monopoly Market' drug trafficking". Fortune Europe. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "FBI Multimedia". FBI Multimedia. Retrieved 2024-01-31.