DOJ Operation TorNado nets 354 arrests and $234 million in cash and crypto in darknet drug sweep

Operation TorNado, announced November 12, 2026, netted 354 arrests and seized over $234 million in cash and crypto, 5.7 metric tons of drugs, and 209 firearms across 14 countries. Led by the FBI's JCODE team and Europol, it is the largest darknet drug enforcement action on record. The U.S. accounted for 132 arrests; prosecutions are underway in more than 20 U.S. districts.

Operation TorNado overview

• ▪Europol coordinated Operation TorNado work with agencies in 14 countries
• ▪Operation TorNado was led by JCODE, the FBI's Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement team, which was created in 2018
• ▪Operation TorNado ran from May 2025 to October 2026
• ▪FBI Director Kash Patel called Operation TorNado the largest interagency takedown of dark web drug vendors and buyers to date
• ▪Operation TorNado is the sixth internationally coordinated JCODE action and the most extensive to date
• ▪Operation TorNado was announced by the Justice Department and Europol

Seized assets breakdown

• ▪Operation TorNado seizures included 38 pill presses and 209 firearms
• ▪Neither the Justice Department nor Europol provided a breakdown of the $234 million between cash and cryptocurrency in Operation TorNado
• ▪Europol reported the European share of Operation TorNado seizures at more than €60 million in cash and cryptocurrencies, 950 kilograms of drugs, and 57 firearms
• ▪Operation TorNado seizures included approximately 5.7 metric tons of illicit drugs worldwide, including fentanyl, other opioids, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and MDMA
• ▪Operation TorNado resulted in the seizure of more than $234 million in cash and virtual currencies combined

Targeted dark web markets

• ▪DrugHub was described by the Justice Department as a Monero-only dark web market
• ▪Operation TorNado targeted vendors and buyers who had been active on five dark web markets already seized by law enforcement: Archetyp, Bohemia, Nemesis, Kingdom, and Tor2Door
• ▪Operation TorNado also identified accounts on DrugHub and on forums, single-vendor shops, and encrypted messaging services

Featured defendant cases

• ▪Stanislav Chernyshov and Vladislav Chernyshov allegedly ran the dark web vendor 'BarbaraWhite,' selling counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with nitazenes and shipping more than 1,000 parcels across 49 states
• ▪Brothers Stanislav Chernyshov, 30, and Vladislav Chernyshov, 35, were arrested in Florida and charged in the Eastern District of Virginia with conspiracy to distribute Schedule I synthetic opioids
• ▪Alexander Green, 32, of Jacksonville, North Carolina, was arrested in June 2026 and charged in the Southern District of Ohio with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including fentanyl
• ▪Alexander Green faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted
• ▪The Justice Department said Alexander Green allegedly operated a dark web vendor called STARLABS on DrugHub, and STARLABS has been linked to two overdose deaths
• ▪Stanislav Chernyshov and Vladislav Chernyshov each face up to 20 years in prison if convicted

Cryptocurrency tracing methods

• ▪Europol's forensic and blockchain analysis teams traced illicit transactions as part of Operation TorNado
• ▪A search-warrant affidavit describes bitcoin transfers tied to that vendor account and the Nemesis dark web market
• ▪A criminal complaint in the Alexander Green case states that undercover purchases from STARLABS were made in exchange for cryptocurrency on the Monero-only market DrugHub

Global arrest distribution

• ▪Federal prosecutions from Operation TorNado are underway in more than 20 U.S. districts
• ▪Operation TorNado produced 354 arrests in total
• ▪Operation TorNado also produced arrests in France, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria, Ireland, Czechia, Australia, and Finland, in addition to the 132 U.S. arrests
• ▪Operation TorNado led to 132 arrests in the United States
• ▪Operation TorNado led to 45 arrests in Hungary and 41 arrests in Germany