Today,
the Department of Justice, and its Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet
Enforcement (JCODE) team and international partners, announced the results of
Operation SpecTor, which included 288 arrests – the most ever for any JCODE
operation and nearly double that of the prior operation. Law enforcement also
conducted more seizures than any prior operation, including 117 firearms, 850
kilograms of drugs that include 64 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced
narcotics, and $53.4 million in cash and virtual currencies.
Operation
SpecTor was a coordinated international effort spanning three continents to
disrupt fentanyl and opioid trafficking on the darknet, or dark web. The
operation was conducted across the United States, Europe, and South America,
and was a result of the continued partnership between JCODE and foreign law
enforcement against the illegal sale of drugs and other illicit goods and
services on the darknet. Operation SpecTor builds on the successes of prior
years’ operations and takedowns of marketplaces, which result in the seizure of
darknet infrastructure providing investigators across the world with
investigative leads and evidence. JCODE and Europol’s European Cybercrime
Centre (EC3) continue to compile intelligence packages to identify entities of
interest. These leads allow U.S. and international law enforcement agencies to
identify darknet drug vendors and buyers, resulting in a series of coordinated,
but separate, law enforcement investigations, resulting in the statistics
announced today.
This
year’s law enforcement operation was accompanied by a public awareness campaign
called Operation ProtecTor aimed to promote public safety and spread awareness
of resources for those struggling with substance abuse and who go through
extreme lengths to obtain opioids. JCODE has worked with every FBI field office
in the country to facilitate outreach to households that have purchased
individual amounts of opioids from the darknet. The interagency efforts are
aimed to both identify those who use anonymizing technologies to purchase
illicit narcotics and direct them to available resources.
“Operation
SpecTor was a coordinated international law enforcement effort, spanning three
continents, to disrupt drug trafficking on the dark web and represents the most
funds seized and the highest number of arrests in any coordinated international
action led by the Justice Department against drug traffickers on the dark web,”
said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Our message to criminals on the dark
web is this: You can try to hide in the furthest reaches of the internet, but
the Justice Department will find you and hold you accountable for your crimes.”
“The
availability of dangerous substances like fentanyl on dark net marketplaces is
helping to fuel the crisis that has claimed far too many American lives,” said
FBI Director Christopher Wray. “That's why we will continue to join forces with
our law enforcement partners around the globe to attack this problem together.
The FBI is proud to stand with our domestic and foreign partners as we continue
to shine that light into the deepest corners of the dark net and hold those
accountable who continue to peddle this poison around the world.”
“The
Sinaloa and Jalisco drug cartels, and the global networks they operate are killing
Americans by sending fentanyl into the United States. Their associates
distribute this fentanyl into communities across America by every means
possible, including the dark web,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “The
DEA is committed to shutting down the fentanyl supply chain from beginning to
end, and we will relentlessly pursue the associates of these cartels wherever
they hide, even in the dark corners of the internet.”
“Our
coalition of law enforcement authorities across three continents proves that we
all do better when we work together,” said Executive Director Catherine De
Bolle of Europol. “This operation sends a strong message to criminals on the
dark web: international law enforcement has the means and the ability to
identify and hold you accountable for your illegal activities, even on the dark
web.”
“Collaboration
with our law enforcement partners is key to combatting fentanyl and opioid
trafficking,” said Chief Jim Lee of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI).
“Under the JCODE umbrella, law enforcement agencies across the globe have
joined forces to take down criminals who use the darknet to buy and sell
narcotics. Our team at IRS-CI plays an integral role in these investigations by
following the money trail, whether it’s in fiat currency or digital assets on
the blockchain.”
“The
illicit movement of opioids poses a significant threat to public health and
safety – whether by known transnational criminal gang members across
international borders or anonymously through darknet spaces,” said Senior
Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Director P.J. Lechleitner of Homeland
Security Investigations (HSI). “Our HSI special agents, alongside federal and
international partners, continue to aggressively investigate, disrupt, and
dismantle networks responsible for trafficking dangerous, deadly narcotics and
other contraband across global communities we are charged with protecting. We
will continue to pursue bad actors engaged in these crimes to ensure they face
justice, while protecting victims from these lethal substances.”
“The
U.S. Postal Inspection Service leverages our specialized knowledge of the
postal system as part of sophisticated dark web investigations such as
Operation SpecTor with great results,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary R. Barksdale
of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “We are committed to taking all
necessary actions to combat illicit drugs in the mail. And we thank our law
enforcement partners for working with us to achieve this; removing dangerous
illicit substances from the mail and American communities saves lives.”
“Addressing
our nation’s drug overdose crisis and epidemic of substance use disorders is an
issue of great concern and remains a top public health priority for the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA),” said Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D.,
of the FDA. “The FDA has undertaken strategic and impactful actions to prevent
drug overdoses and reduce deaths and is committed to using all of our
cyber-resources to shed light on the darkest corners of illicit medical supply
chains for the health and safety of all Americans.”
Operation
SpecTor resulted in over 100 federal operations and prosecutions, including:
- On Dec.
1, 2022, Anton Peck, 29, of Boca Raton, Florida, was sentenced to 16 years
in prison for conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute
controlled substances, including fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin.
According to court documents, between May 2021 and May 2022, Peck
distributed narcotics from various darknet markets using the vendor
profile “Syntropy.” After the transactions were carried out using
cryptocurrency, Peck and co-conspirators Kevin Fusco and Vincent Banner
mailed parcels containing fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine to cities
around the country using the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Fusco, 35, of
West Palm Beach, Florida, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for
conspiring to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. Banner,
31, of Boynton Beach, Florida, is scheduled to be sentenced on June 8
after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to
distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin. Law enforcement
recovered kilogram quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, and
heroin from business and storage locations in West Palm Beach, Boca Raton,
and New York City. Peck possessed a list of more than 6,000 customers
living across the United States. The DEA, FBI, USPS Office of Inspector
General (USPS-OIG), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) and the Palm Beach
County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office
for the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting the case.
- On Nov.
18, 2022, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Christopher
Hampton, 36, of Cerritos, California, with heading an organization that
obtained bulk fentanyl, operated labs in California that used high-speed
pill presses to create fake pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine,
and sold millions of pills to thousands of customers on the darknet.
Hampton was named in an 11-count indictment that charges him with various
narcotics and weapons offenses that could result in a sentence of life in
prison. According to court documents, he was active on at least nine
darknet marketplaces where he typically used the moniker “Narco710.”
Hampton allegedly sold nearly $2 million worth of narcotics on two of
these darknet marketplaces alone. He was arrested on Nov. 2, 2022, at
which time federal law enforcement executed search warrants that led to
the discovery and seizure of 450 pounds of suspected narcotics; six pill
press machines, some of which were capable of producing thousands of pills
per hour; and illegal firearms that included assault rifles and a machine
gun. Agents later located a storage unit linked to the drug conspiracy and
seized over 80 pounds of pressed fentanyl pills, eight guns, and precursor
materials to press additional pills. The FBI JCODE and DEA HIDTA Tactical
Diversion Squad investigated the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
Central District of California is prosecuting the case.
- On May
12, 2022, a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment charging
Holly Adams, 31, and Devlin Hosner, 33, of Indio, California, with
conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl
and methamphetamine, and with conspiracy to launder money. According to
court documents, Adams and Hosner operated the vendor accounts
“igogrrawwr” and “its4real” on the darknet marketplaces ToRReZ and
Darkode, respectively, through which they sold tens of thousands of
counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl in exchange for
cryptocurrency. Adams and Hosner shipped these fentanyl pills to buyers
throughout the United States, using the USPS, UPS, and other means of
delivery. In the course of their conspiracy, Adams and Hosner finalized
over 1,100 transactions of narcotics and other contraband and received
more than $800,000 in cryptocurrency. Federal law enforcement officers
executed a search warrant at a hotel in Riverside county where Adams and
Hosner were residing and recovered more than 10,000 counterfeit oxycodone
pills as well as approximately 60 grams of methamphetamine. The IRS-CI,
HSI, FBI, USPIS, and USPS-OIG investigated the case. The U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the Eastern District of California is prosecuting the case.
Operation
SpecTor was a collaborative initiative across JCODE members, including the
Department of Justice, FBI, DEA, USPIS, HSI, IRS-CI, ATF, Naval Criminal
Investigative Service (NCIS), and the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations.
This operation was aided by non-operational supporting participation from the
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP). Local, state, and other federal agencies also contributed to
Operation SpecTor investigations through task force participation and regional
partnerships. The investigations leading to Operation SpecTor were
significantly aided by support and coordination by the Justice Department’s
Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF); multi-agency Special
Operations Division; the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual
Property Section, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section’s Digital
Currency Initiative, Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, and Fraud Section;
the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs; Europol and its Dark
Web team; and international partners. The international partners include
Eurojust; Austria’s Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt);
France’s Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes (Douane); Germany’s
Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), Central Criminal
Investigation Department of Oldenburg (Zentrale KriminaIinspektion Oldenburg),
General Prosecutor’s Office in Frankfurt/Main - Cybercrime Center
(Generalstaatsanwaltschaft Frankfurt/Main, Zentralstelle zur Bekämpfung der
Internetkriminalität), Berlin Police (Polizei Berlin), various police
departments (Dienststellen der Länderpolizeien), German Customs Investigation
(Zollfahndungsämter); the Netherland’s National Police (Politie); Poland’s
Central Cybercrime Bureau (Centralne Biuro Zwalczania Cyberprzestępczości);
Brazil’s Civil Police of the State of Piauí (Polícia Civil do Estado do Piauí),
Civil Police of the Federal District (Polícia Civil do Distrito Federal),
National Secretariat of Public Security - Directorate of Integrated Operations
and Intelligence - Cyber Operations Laboratory (Laboratório de Operações
Cibernéticas da Diretoria de Operações Integradas e de Inteligência - Secretaria
Nacional de Segurança Pública); Switzerland’s Zurich Cantonal Police
(Kantonspolizei Zürich) and Public Prosecutor’s Office II of the Canton of
Zurich (Staatsanwaltschaft II); and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency
(NCA) and National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC).
Federal
investigations and prosecutions are being conducted in more than 30 federal
districts, including the District of Arizona, the Central District of
California, the Eastern District of California, the Northern District of California,
the Southern District of California, the District of Colorado, the District of
Connecticut, the District of Columbia, the District of Delaware, the Southern
District of Florida, the Northern District of Georgia, the Southern District of
Indiana, the Eastern District of Kentucky, the District of Maryland, the
District of Massachusetts, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Western
District of Michigan, the Eastern District of Missouri, the Western District of
Missouri, the District of Nebraska, the District of Nevada, the District of New
Jersey, the Eastern District of New York, the Southern District of New York,
the Western District of North Carolina, the Northern District of Ohio, the
Southern District of Ohio, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Middle
District of Pennsylvania, the District of South Dakota, the Eastern District of
Tennessee, the Eastern District of Texas, the Northern District of Texas, the
Southern District of Texas, the District of Vermont, the Eastern District of
Virginia, and the Western District of Washington.
The
Justice Department established the FBI-led JCODE team to lead and coordinate
government efforts to detect, disrupt, and dismantle major criminal enterprises
reliant on the darknet for trafficking opioids and other illicit narcotics,
along with identifying and dismantling their supply chains.
An
indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until
proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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