Category: illegal drugs

150 Arrested in US-Europe Crackdown on DarkNet Drug Trafficking

WASHINGTON—An international operation targeting trafficking in opioids on a clandestine part of the internet called the DarkNet has led to about 150 arrests in the United States and Europe and the seizure of drugs, cash, and guns, U.S. and European authorities said on Tuesday. The crackdown, called Operation Dark HunTor, was announced at a U.S….


Orange County Records Spike in Fentanyl Deaths

The number of fentanyl-related deaths has risen by more than 1,000 percent during the past five years in Orange County, Calif., according to the local sheriff’s department. Data released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) department showed 37 people were poisoned by the drug in 2016. There were 57 deaths in 2017, 134 deaths in 2018,…


Illicit Drugs Markets Hurt by Darknet Takedown: Report

The Australian National University (ANU) has found that police raids on the dark web marketplaces have dented the supply of opioids, like fentanyl being sold illegally online. The report (pdf), commissioned by the Australian Institute of Criminology’s (AIC) Serious and Organised Crime Research Laboratory, examined how law enforcement seizures and the subsequent black market closures…


Dark Web Drug Markets Dented by Police Raids: Report

The Australian National University (ANU) has found that police raids on the dark web marketplaces have dented the supply of opioids, like fentanyl being sold illegally online. The report (pdf), commissioned by the Australian Institute of Criminology’s (AIC) Serious and Organised Crime Research Laboratory, examined how law enforcement seizures and the subsequent black market closures…


UK’s Tougher Sentencing for ‘County Lines’ Drug Dealers Will Not Help Catch the Right People: Criminologist

The UK’s county lines drug dealers are to face tougher sentences under new rules published on Wednesday that add extra penalties for offending involving “aggravating factors” like the exploitation of children and other vulnerable people. County lines gangs are so-called because of their practice of taking advantage of children and others to run drugs and cash…