Operation RapTor Takes Down Dark Web Traffickers with 2 Tons of Drugs Seized, 270 Arrests Across 4 Continents

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

A global law enforcement operation coordinated by Europol has struck a major blow to the criminal underground, with 270 arrests of dark web vendors and buyers across ten countries. Known as Operation RapTor, this international sweep has dismantled networks trafficking in drugs, weapons, and counterfeit goods, sending a clear signal to criminals hiding behind the illusion of anonymity.

The suspects were identified through coordinated investigations based on intelligence from the takedowns of the dark web marketplaces Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia and Kingdom Markets. Many had conducted thousands of sales on illicit marketplaces, using encryption tools and cryptocurrencies to cover their tracks — but law enforcement closed in.

This international action follows Operation SpecTor in 2023, which led to 288 arrests. Together, these operations show the increasing ability of law enforcement to penetrate the dark web’s cloak of secrecy.

Incognito Market

According to court documents and statements made in court, Incognito Market was an online narcotics bazaar that started on the dark web in October 2020. Until it shut down in March 2024, Incognito Market sold more than $100 million of narcotics—including hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine. Incognito Market was available globally to anyone with internet access using the Tor web browser on the “dark web” or “darknet.”

Incognito Market was designed to facilitate seamless narcotics transactions, incorporating many features of legitimate e-commerce sites such as branding, advertising, and customer service.

Listings included offerings of prescription medication that was falsely advertised as being authentic. For example, in November 2023, while operating in an undercover capacity on Incognito Market, a law enforcement agent purchased and received several tablets purported to be oxycodone. Testing revealed that these tablets were not oxycodone and were, in fact, fentanyl pills.

In parallel with the 270 arrests in 10 different countries, officers seized:

• Over EUR 184 million in cash and cryptocurrencies
• Over 2 tons of drugs, including amphetamines, cocaine, ketamine, opioids and cannabis
• Over 180 firearms, along with imitation weapons, tasers and knives
• 12 500 counterfeit products
• More than 4 tons of illegal tobacco

While executing search warrants in New Jersey and New York, federal law enforcement officers seized more than $330,000, close to 80,000 counterfeit Adderall pills, one firearm, and two industrial pill press machines. Additionally, two vehicles and several pieces of property were seized during the search warrants. An additional 30 kilograms of suspected counterfeit Adderall pills were seized on May 2, 2024, in New York.

Counterfeit adderall pills containing meth was seized.

Nemesis Marketplace Founder Sanctioned

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) additionally sanctioned Iranian national Behrouz Parsarad for his role as the founder and operator of Nemesis Market following seizure of the market. Parsarad was also indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Ohio on drug trafficking charges related to the illegal business he ran on the dark web.

Nemesis had over 30,000 active users and 1,000 vendors and facilitated the sale of nearly $30 million worth of drugs around the world between 2021 and 2024, including to the United States.

Behrouz Parsarad (Parsarad), residing in Iran, was the sole administrator of Nemesis. In this capacity, Parsarad established Nemesis and held full control over the marketplace and its virtual currency wallets. Parsarad enriched himself from fees he charged users of Nemesis with every transaction, pocketing what OFAC estimates to be millions of dollars over the course of the marketplace’s existence. In addition to providing criminals with a platform to conduct transactions, Parsarad laundered virtual currencies for narcotics traffickers and cybercriminals active on Nemesis.

On March 20, 2024, U.S., German, and Lithuanian law enforcement agencies seized Nemesis’ servers in a joint operation. Since the takedown of Nemesis, Parsarad has discussed setting up a new darknet marketplace to take the place of Nemesis with vendors that were once active on the marketplace.

 
Sources Europol, DOJ, OFAC

Categories: dark web