354 arrested in massive dark-web drug operation, DOJ says

article During an Operation TorNado search in the U.S., investigators from the FBI, NCIS, USPIS, DEA and and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-Office of Criminal Investigations seized a pill press, approximately 200 grams of methamphetamine, and mo Expand The Brief Arrests were made in a sweeping global drug operation called Operation TorNado, according to the Department of Justice. Authorities seized millions of dollars in cash, tons of illegal drugs, and dozens of guns. Officials said the individuals engaging in the illegal activity were using dark web markets to traffic various drugs like fentanyl and opioids. A drug operation resulted in the arrest of 354 people involved in sales of illegal goods and services spanning the United States, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The Department of Justice stated in an agency release that the operation led to authorities confiscating more than $234 million in cash and virtual currencies, 5.7 metric tons of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, opioids, heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy, and 209 guns. Operation TorNado drug operation arrests Dig deeper: Operation TorNado was a multi‑agency and international law enforcement operation that targeted criminal enterprises that utilized dark web outlets to traffic fentanyl, opioids, and illegal drugs. The sweeping operation was conducted between May 2025 to October 2026, resulting in dozens of federal prosecutions including: Stanislav Chernyshov, 30, a Russian national illegally residing in the United States, and his brother Vladislav Chernyshov, 35, a naturalized U.S. citizen, who were arrested in Florida for allegedly operating Dark Web vendor "BarbaraWhite," which sold counterfeit oxycodone M30 pills, according to the Department of Justice. RELATED: DOJ seizes social media ‘bot farm’ operated by Russian government During an Operation TorNado search in the U.S., investigators from the FBI, NCIS, USPIS, DEA and and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-Office of Criminal Investigations seized a pill press, approximately 200 grams of methamphetamine, and mo Expand DOJ officials noted that Alexander Green, 32, a U.S. citizen of Jacksonville, North Carolina, and formerly of Hazlet, New Jersey, was arrested in June for operating the STARLABS Cyber-Enabled Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO), an online vendor responsible for distributing a wide array of illicit narcotics, including fentanyl Jonatan Gonzales, 35, a U.S. citizen of South Bakersfield, California, who was arrested after he was identified as a Dark Web narcotics vendor "SpeedyPharma" who was shipping methamphetamine, as well as black tar heroin, cocaine, and K2 paper, to multiple addresses in western Pennsylvania, as well as to all other 49 states. Authorities seized illegal goods in the Operation TorNado investigation. (Photo courtesy of the Federal Bureau of Investigation) Michael Morales, 25, of Bergenfield, New Jersey; Thomas A. Crisafulli, 27, of Bergenfield, Naudy Oviedo, 21, of Bronx, New York; Jayshawn Eyamazememba, 22, of Bronx, and Ethan Lara, 25, of Lodi, New Jersey, were arrested in New Jersey for their alleged roles in a New York/New Jersey distribution cell operating on behalf of a nationwide drug trafficking organization that distributed counterfeit Xanax, MDMA, ketamine, and other controlled substances through a nationwide mail-based distribution network. And Eric Turner, 30, of Lizella, Georgia, and Jose Smith, 29, of Valrico, Florida, both U.S. citizens, were arrested in June for operating a Dark Web enterprise selling bulk quantities of heroin and fentanyl using the monikers Postmates and FuegoPacksXpress. In the drug operation, authorities arrested 132 people in the United States, two in Australia, six in Austria, four in Czechia, one in Finland, 23 in France, 41 in Germany, 45 in Hungary, five in Ireland, 12 in the Netherlands, 13 in New Zealand, 11 in Slovenia, and 59 in the United Kingdom. The Source: Information for this story was provided by agency releases from the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation. This story was reported from Washington, D.C. Crime and Public Safety U.S. World