Beyond the money, the haul included about 5.7 metric tons of drugs. A significant share of that was fentanyl, the synthetic opioid at the center of the US overdose crisis.
Investigators also recovered 209 firearms.
The US carried the heaviest load. American authorities made 132 arrests, seized 4.8 metric tons of drugs and confiscated $166 million in assets domestically.
Europe accounted for much of the rest. Law enforcement there seized nearly 1 metric ton of drugs and more than €60 million in cash and crypto.
Arrest counts outside the US were spread across several countries:
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United Kingdom: 59 arrests
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Hungary: 45 arrests
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Germany: 41 arrests
The operation’s stated focus was opioid trafficking networks whose customer base reportedly reached tens of thousands of American buyers.
Going after the buyers, too
TorNado did not stop at the sellers. The operation targeted both vendors and buyers who were active on dark web marketplaces that law enforcement had previously compromised.
Part of a longer campaign
TorNado is not a one-off. It builds directly on two earlier JCODE efforts: Operation SpecTor in 2023 and Operation RapTor in 2025. Each has followed a similar template of international coordination, marketplace infiltration and mass arrests.
What it means for crypto
Crypto sits at the center of this story because it is a core part of how darknet markets function. The size of the seizure points to a reality that privacy-minded users sometimes underestimate. Funds on a public blockchain leave a trail, and authorities across multiple countries have clearly gotten comfortable following it.
The research behind this report frames the outcome as evidence that law enforcement is becoming more effective at tracking and disrupting financial flows tied to drug trafficking. It also flags a persistent concern: dark web marketplaces have a track record of adapting after each crackdown.
cryptobriefing.com
