The Department of Justice, and its Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team and international partners, announced the results of Operation SpecTor, which included 288 arrests – the most ever for any JCODE operation and nearly double that of the prior operation. Law enforcement also conducted more seizures than any prior operation, including 117 firearms, 850 kilograms of drugs that include 64 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics, and $53.4 million in cash and virtual currencies.

Operation SpecTor was a coordinated international effort spanning three continents to disrupt fentanyl and opioid trafficking on the darknet, or dark web. The operation was conducted across the United States, Europe, and South America, and was a result of the continued partnership between JCODE and foreign law enforcement against the illegal sale of drugs and other illicit goods and services on the darknet.   more...
SAN DIEGO – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers intercepted two SENTRI members attempting to smuggle over $1 million worth of narcotics at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa port of entry.

The first interception occurred, Wednesday, at approximately 5:15 a.m., CBP officers were conducting vehicle enforcement inspections in the pre-primary area. CBP officers encountered a 71-year-old male driving a pick-up truck through the dedicated commuter lane. During an initial inspection CBP officers noticed tampering on the truck’s spare tire. CBP officers referred the pick-up truck to secondary inspection for further examination.

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LAREDO, Texas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers seized hard narcotics in one enforcement action over the weekend.

“The CBP officers’ experience played a significant role in these interceptions,” said Port Director Albert Flores, Laredo Port of Entry. “Our CBP officers’ hard work, perseverance and utilization of our canines and non-intrusive inspection systems resulted in the interception of these hard narcotics.”

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In a recent tweet, the FBI office in Denver warned consumers against using free public charging stations, stating that criminals have managed to hijack public chargers with the objective of infecting devices with malware or other software that can give hackers access to your phone, tablet or computer.

“Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers. Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices. Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead.”

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Genesis Market Offered Access to Data Stolen From Over 1.5M Compromised Computers Worldwide and Was a Key Enabler of Ransomware

A coordinated international operation has dismantled the Genesis Market, a criminal online marketplace that advertised and sold packages of account access credentials – such as usernames and passwords for email, bank accounts, and social media – that had been stolen from malware-infected computers around the world.

Since its inception in March 2018, Genesis Market has offered access to data stolen from over 1.5 million compromised computers around the world containing over 80 million account access credentials.   more...
LOS ANGELES – Seizure warrants for six virtual currency accounts were authorized by judges in Los Angeles, the District of Arizona, and the District of Idaho. In the Los Angeles matter, a United States magistrate judge authorized the seizure of an account containing approximately $66.4 million in various cryptocurrencies after finding probable cause that the funds were derived from wire fraud schemes, resulting in virtual currency worth an estimated $112 million linked to cryptocurrency investment scams commonly called “pig butchering.”

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