From U.S. Department of Justice | Office of Public Affairs
In a landmark international effort, law enforcement agencies across four continents have arrested 270 individuals and seized more than $200 million in cash and crypto assets, two metric tons of narcotics, 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced drugs, and over 180 firearms. The coordinated effort, dubbed Operation RapTor, marks the most successful operation to date by the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team.
The takedown involved authorities from the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia, targeting illicit drug traffickers operating on dark web marketplaces including Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom Market. These operations led to the dismantling of darknet infrastructure and follow-up investigations worldwide.
Key Highlights:
- 270 arrests in 10 countries: including the U.S., Germany, UK, France, and Brazil.
- $200 million seized in digital and fiat currencies.
- 2+ metric tons of drugs confiscated, including fentanyl, meth, heroin, and counterfeit pills.
- 180+ firearms recovered.
- Darknet marketplace leaders indicted, including Iranian national Behrouz Parsarad, alleged founder of Nemesis Market.
Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the operation as life-saving:
“Criminals can’t hide behind the dark web. This operation demonstrates our commitment to dismantling global drug networks.”
Notable Cases:
- Rui-Siang Lin, operator of Incognito Market, pled guilty in December 2024 to selling over $100 million in narcotics, including fentanyl-laced fake oxycodone.
- Adan Ruiz and Omar Navia, sentenced to 17 and 15 years respectively, sold over 120,000 fentanyl pills across the U.S., resulting in multiple overdose deaths.
- Joshua and Joseph Vasquez, along with Rafael Roman, ran massive counterfeit Adderall operations, fulfilling over 13,000 orders.
- Brian McDonald, aka “Malachai Johnson,” sentenced to over 20 years for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine via multiple darknet marketplaces.
Global Partners:
Operation RapTor was supported by Europol, Eurojust, and law enforcement from Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. In the U.S., 26 federal districts participated.
FBI Director Kash Patel summed up the scale of the effort:
“Your days of hiding behind anonymous screens and cryptocurrency are over.”
JCODE, led by the FBI, coordinates with DEA, FDA, HSI, IRS-CI, USPIS, and numerous international partners to combat online drug trafficking and its real-world consequences.
Note: All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
