An unprecedented international operation, involving judicial and law enforcement authorities from 11 countries, has resulted in the arrest of 44 individuals. The arrested individuals were suspected of belonging to a high-risk criminal network considered one of the most dangerous in the European Union. The investigations in eight countries uncovered that several criminal organisations were working together to carry out large-scale poly-criminal activities in and outside the European Union. These include drug trafficking, money laundering and illegal enrichment among others.
Law enforcement authorities arrested 150 suspects allegedly involved in selling and buying illicit goods on DarkMarket, the largest illegal marketplace on the dark web when it was taken down in January 2021.