International Police Operation Dismantles €30 Million Darknet Drug Empire

Bucharest, Romania – On June 11, 2025, a large-scale international operation led by Romanian and German authorities successfully dismantled a major Darknet drug trafficking network. Prosecutors from the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) and police officers from the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (DCCO) in Romania, in collaboration with German judicial authorities, executed a search warrant in Bucharest as part of a European Investigation Order. The investigation targeted a German citizen, identified as the administrator of a prominent online platform on the Darknet, which facilitated the international sale of various high-risk drugs including cocaine, heroin, LSD, and fentanyl. Transactions on the platform, accessible exclusively via the TOR network, were conducted solely in cryptocurrency, generating an estimated illicit income exceeding 30 million euros since its establishment in 2020. This complex operation involved law enforcement agencies from multiple countries, including Germany (Bundeskriminalamt), Spain, Sweden, Portugal, and the United States. Searches were conducted at the suspect's residences in Spain, Hanover, and Minden-Lübbecke in Germany, yielding significant evidence. Additionally, the server infrastructure supporting the illegal platform was secured and shut down by the National Police of the Netherlands. The judicial activities, supported by Eurojust and Europol, also included a search at the suspect's residence in Bucharest, where further evidence was seized and handed over to German authorities for ongoing investigations. The Romanian Police's Special Intervention and Action Service (SIAS) also participated in the operation.