Operation RapTor: Dark Web Incognito Market Dismantled, Crypto Tracing Fuels Global Crackdown

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By Alexander

The ongoing global effort to combat illicit activities on the dark web recently achieved a significant milestone with the dismantling of Incognito Market, a major online marketplace for illegal narcotics. This successful operation, dubbed RapTor, involved a collaborative international response spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Justice and Europol, with critical support from private sector entities like the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

Dismantling Incognito Market’s Operations

Incognito Market had established itself as a notorious hub for illegal drug trafficking, facilitating the sale of over 1,000 different types of illicit substances. Its vast network generated an estimated turnover of approximately $100 million. To facilitate these illicit transactions, the marketplace relied heavily on cryptocurrency, developing a sophisticated infrastructure to manage its financial flows.

Binance’s specialized Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) played a pivotal role in unraveling this complex web of criminal activity. Their expertise in tracing on-chain transactions allowed them to meticulously follow the cryptocurrency wallets and the funds moving through them. This diligent tracking provided crucial intelligence that led law enforcement agencies to a Taiwanese citizen, who was subsequently identified as the suspected mastermind behind Incognito Market’s extensive operations. The individual now faces charges related to drug trafficking and money laundering.

Beyond identifying key individuals, Binance’s FIU successfully secured the freeze of approximately $3.5 million in cryptocurrency assets associated with the marketplace. This asset seizure, combined with the detailed transactional data provided, proved instrumental in the comprehensive dismantling of Incognito Market.

The Broader Impact of Operation RapTor

The success against Incognito Market is part of the larger, recently concluded international Operation RapTor. This extensive law enforcement initiative, whose results were unveiled earlier this year, led to a substantial crackdown on darknet criminal enterprises worldwide.

Highlighting the importance of such collaborative efforts, Nils Andersen-Red, the Head of Binance’s FIU, stated, “This case serves as a powerful reminder that the blockchain does not offer a safe haven for criminal activity. Even with sophisticated privacy tools, every cryptocurrency transaction leaves a digital trace that is becoming increasingly critical in modern law enforcement investigations.”

Operation RapTor’s wide-reaching impact extended across 10 countries, resulting in the arrest of 270 individuals. The operation also led to the seizure of substantial quantities of illegal narcotics and approximately 180 firearms. This comprehensive effort was built upon intelligence gathered from the prior dismantling of several other significant darknet marketplaces, including Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom Markets, underscoring a coordinated international strategy against online illicit trade.

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