Law enforcement agencies around the world recently seized and shut down an illegal dark web marketplace called Monopoly Market as part of efforts to crack down on illicit cryptocurrency transactions, according to a May 2 Europol press release.
Law enforcement seized $53.4 million in cash and crypto as part of the operation — dubbed SpecTor — and arrested 288 vendors that were primarily selling drugs and firearms through Monopoly Market and other similar websites.
Of the 288 arrests, 153 were made in the U.S., 55 in the U.K., and 52 in Germany — with one California-based man accounting for over $2 million worth of sales of methamphetamines and fentanyl.
The remaining arrests were spread out across the Netherlands, Austria, France, Switzerland, Poland, and Brazil.
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