Do Son 
Law enforcement agencies from ten countries have conducted a sweeping operation, codenamed RapTor, resulting in the arrest of 270 individuals suspected of engaging in illicit trade on dark web marketplaces. This coordinated crackdown, uniting authorities from Europe, South America, Asia, and the United States, dealt a significant blow to the clandestine online trafficking of narcotics, firearms, and counterfeit goods.
Through a series of raids and arrests, investigators seized more than €184 million in cash and cryptocurrency, over two metric tons of various drugs, and more than 180 firearms. Orchestrated by Europol, the operation stands as one of the most extensive assaults on the dark web’s criminal underworld in recent memory.
According to Europol representatives, most of those apprehended were linked to thousands of illicit transactions conducted via underground platforms such as Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom Market. Intelligence obtained following the shutdown of these marketplaces played a pivotal role in identifying the suspects and tracing their digital footprints.
The United States accounted for the largest number of arrests, with 130 individuals taken into custody. Germany reported 42 arrests, the United Kingdom 37, France 29, and South Korea 19. An additional 13 suspects were apprehended in the Netherlands, Austria, Brazil, Spain, and Switzerland. All face charges related to the distribution of controlled substances, illicit arms trading, and smuggling.
According to Edvardas Šileris, head of the European Cybercrime Centre, Operation RapTor underscores a critical truth: anonymity on the dark web is an illusion. Thanks to international collaboration and data sharing, law enforcement across continents has successfully identified and apprehended participants in these covert operations, proving that even the most discreet criminal enterprises cannot elude justice indefinitely.
Europol specialists, alongside the U.S. Justice Department’s JCODE unit, continue to analyze digital evidence gathered from previous operations in pursuit of additional suspects. These efforts are already yielding results: Operation SpecTor in 2023 led to 288 arrests and the seizure of nearly $56 million. In 2020, DisrupTor resulted in 179 arrests, while Dark HunTOR in 2021 saw 150 individuals detained.
Another milestone came in 2022 with the dismantling of Hydra, the largest dark web marketplace in the world at the time. With over 19,000 vendors and more than 17 million customers, Hydra’s takedown—led by German and U.S. authorities—disrupted a significant portion of the global dark web infrastructure.
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