Nearly 300 people are detained in a US-European drug bust.

A multi-continental crackdown has halted a major "dark web" drugs marketplace, with international police arresting 288 suspects and recovering more than 50 million euros in cash and virtual currency. The operation called SpecTor by US, British, Brazilian and European law enforcement also netted almost a tonne of drugs and 117 firearms. The largest number of arrests were in the United States with 153, Britain 55, Germany 52 and the Netherlands, 10. The US Justice Department said several suspects have already been convicted or were being prosecuted following Operation SpecTor, which it described as the "largest international operation against darknet trafficking of fentanyl and opioids". Police also recovered 50.8 million euros in cash and virtual currency and seized 850 kilos of drugs, mainly amphetamines and opioids.

The Dutch cybercrime police team leader Nan van de Coevering said the intelligence helped police to start new investigations and enrich current probes. Operation SpecTor is an operation by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Dutch police to take down the world's largest online marketplace selling stolen identities and passwords on the open web. It comes in the wake of last month's takedown of the world's largest online marketplace selling stolen identities and passwords on the open web, which saw 119 suspects arrested and involved 17 countries across the world. Previous operations targeting marketplaces on the dark web have led to more than 320 arrests. US Attorney General Merrick Garland admitted that these operations "disrupt the situation for some time" and that there is a "bit of a whack-a-mole problem here".