In a monumental international crackdown on dark web illicit activities, the Department of Justice’s Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team, alongside a coalition of international law enforcement partners, today announced the staggering results of Operation RapTor. The coordinated global effort led to the arrests of 270 dark web vendors, buyers, and administrators across ten countries, marking the highest number of seizures in any JCODE operation to date.
Operation RapTor, a comprehensive initiative targeting fentanyl and opioid trafficking, as well as the sale of other illegal goods and services on the darknet, resulted in the seizure of over $200 million in currency and digital assets, more than two metric tons of drugs – including a critical 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics – and over 180 firearms.
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Arrests were made in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
“This historic international seizure of firearms, deadly drugs, and illegal funds will save lives,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Criminals cannot hide behind computer screens or seek refuge on the dark web – this Justice Department will identify and eliminate threats to the American people regardless of where they originate.”
The operation built upon the successes of previous years’ efforts, which saw the takedown of darknet infrastructure from Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom Markets. These prior actions provided invaluable investigative leads and evidence for law enforcement agencies worldwide.
JCODE and Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) continue to compile intelligence packages to identify entities of interest, leading to a series of coordinated, yet separate, law enforcement investigations culminating in today’s announced statistics.
In a significant move, and as its first action as a JCODE member agency, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Iranian national Behrouz Parsarad. Parsarad was identified as the founder and operator of Nemesis Market, which was seized in a previous operation. He has also been indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Ohio on drug trafficking charges related to his dark web activities.
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“By cowardly hiding online, these traffickers have wreaked havoc across our country and directly fueled the fentanyl crisis and gun violence impacting our American communities and neighborhoods. But the ease and accessibility of their crimes ends today,” said FBI Director Kash Patel, emphasizing the critical role of international collaboration.
Echoing this sentiment, DEA Acting Administrator Robert Murphy stated, “These predators who peddled poison on the dark web might have thought they are untouchable — hiding behind screens, pushing fentanyl, fueling overdoses, and cashing in on misery. However, Operation RapTor just proved them wrong. DEA and our global partners reached across borders, across platforms, and across currencies to rip their networks apart.”
Operation RapTor’s success underscores the growing reach of law enforcement into the seemingly anonymous corners of the dark web. “Operation RapTor shows that the dark web is not beyond the reach of law enforcement,” added Edvardas Šileris, Head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre.
The impact of this operation is highlighted by several key cases:
- Rui-Siang Lin, owner and operator of Incognito Market, pleaded guilty in December 2024 to narcotics conspiracy, money laundering, and selling adulterated and misbranded medication. Incognito Market, which operated from October 2020 to March 2024, facilitated over $100 million in narcotics sales, including cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl-laced pills disguised as oxycodone.
- In January 2025, Adan Ruiz and Omar Navia received 17-year and 15-year sentences respectively in the Central District of California for supplying fentanyl-laced pills to a darknet drug trafficking ring. This ring, which operated under the “redlightlabs” account, sold over 120,000 fentanyl-laced pills and other drugs to more than 1,000 customers nationwide, leading to several fatal overdoses.
- In February 2024, Joshua Vasquez, Joseph Vasquez, and Rafael Roman were charged in the Eastern District of Virginia for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, selling counterfeit Adderall on darknet markets like Bohemia and Tor2Door. These prolific vendors fulfilled over 13,000 drug orders across the U.S. Authorities seized over $330,000, nearly 80,000 counterfeit Adderall pills, a firearm, and two industrial pill presses. Joshua Vasquez was sentenced to 12 years, Joseph Vasquez to 10 years, and Roman to 10 years in late 2024.
- Brian McDonald of San Fernando Valley, California, was sentenced to over 20 years in federal prison for using darknet marketplaces to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of fentanyl-laced pills and cocaine, admitting to causing one fatal fentanyl overdose.
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Operation RapTor involved a broad coalition of U.S. and international law enforcement agencies, including the DEA, FBI, FDA OCI, HSI, IRS-CI, USPIS, Europol, Eurojust, and law enforcement agencies from Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Twenty-six U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the United States are prosecuting related cases.
The successful dismantling of these dark web operations sends a clear message: the anonymity of the internet will not shield criminals from justice. Law enforcement agencies worldwide are increasingly sophisticated in their ability to penetrate and disrupt these illicit networks, aiming to curb the flow of deadly drugs and protect communities.
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