Operation TorNado led to the arrest of 354 suspected dark web buyers and sellers in an investigation involving law enforcement agencies from 14 countries. From May 2025 to October 2026, investigators pursued suspects linked to five marketplaces and traced drug sales through smaller online shops, forums and encrypted messaging services.
Earlier marketplace takedowns gave investigators leads on suspected drug traffickers. National agencies opened separate cases, while Europol helped them compare findings across borders and analyze digital evidence. The five markets at the center of the investigations were Archetyp, Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia and Kingdom.
Police seize more than €210 million in Europe and the US
In Europe, authorities seized more than €60 million in cash and cryptocurrency, 57 firearms and 950 kilograms of illicit drugs. The drugs included cocaine, amphetamines, ketamine, MDMA, cannabis and psilocybin mushrooms.
US authorities reported larger seizures across all three categories. They recovered more than €150 million, seized 152 firearms and confiscated over 4.8 metric tonnes of illicit drugs. The US Department of Justice said Operation TorNado disrupted the online opioid trade, including fentanyl trafficking. Its assessment drew on several investigations that grew out of intelligence from earlier cases.
Earlier dark web takedowns gave investigators new leads
Operation TorNado follows a series of international investigations into dark web drug sales. In 2020, Operation DisrupTor led to 179 arrests. A year later, authorities arrested 150 people in Operation Dark Huntor, which targeted high-volume vendors.
In April 2022, German and US authorities took down Hydra, then the world’s largest dark web marketplace. At the time, the platform had more than 19,000 seller accounts and served over 17 million customers worldwide. Operation SpecTor followed in 2023, when authorities arrested 288 suspects and seized €50.8 million in cash and cryptocurrency.
The latest investigation began in May 2025, the same month authorities announced 270 arrests across ten countries under Operation RapTor. Europol said the shift toward single-vendor shops and encrypted messaging showed how sellers adapted after major markets closed. For investigators, that meant following individual vendors and buyers across several services, even after the marketplace that first drew their attention went offline.
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