A sprawling international crackdown on dark-web drug trafficking has ended with 354 arrests across 14 countries and more than $234 million seized in cash and virtual currencies, federal officials announced Thursday. The operation, dubbed TorNado, targeted both vendors and buyers moving opioids, fentanyl, and other narcotics through hidden online marketplaces.
The announcement came from Attorney General Todd Blanche, with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio — which covers Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton — amplifying the news on X the same day. The office's post, shared under the handle @sdohnews, retweeted the Justice Department's live announcement
, calling Operation TorNado a coordinated, multi-agency and international effort. According to the
U.S. Department of Justice
, the operation's haul included roughly 5.7 metric tons of illicit drugs worldwide, spanning fentanyl and other opioids, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and MDMA.
Crypto Briefing reports that the work behind TorNado stretched from May 2025 through October 2026, making it a roughly 18-month, multi-continent effort rather than a single raid. Per the outlet's reporting, the operation marks the largest takedown yet by the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement team, known as JCODE, which has coordinated prior dark-web crackdowns.
How the Numbers Break Down at Home and Abroad
Domestically, American authorities made 132 arrests and seized 4.8 metric tons of drugs along with $166 million in assets, according to Crypto Briefing. Globally, Justice Department figures put the total at 5.7 metric tons of drugs and $234 million in criminal assets.
C-SPAN had listed a news conference featuring Attorney General Blanche and other officials specifically focused on illegal drug trafficking on the dark web, lining up with the timing of Thursday's announcement. The event description matches the broader rollout of TorNado's results, though a full transcript of what was said at the podium was not available in the materials reviewed for this report.
Building on Past Darknet Crackdowns
TorNado is not JCODE's first swing at dark-web drug networks. The same report from the outlet notes that it builds on Operation SpecTor in 2023 and Operation RapTor in 2025, both part of the same federal task force's ongoing campaign against online narcotics trafficking. The Justice Department's own account of Operation RapTor described seizures of more than two metric tons of drugs, including 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics, plus more than 180 firearms, giving a sense of scale for how TorNado compares to its predecessor.
Crypto Briefing also notes that dark-web marketplaces have a track record of adapting after each crackdown, suggesting that even a haul of this size may not permanently dismantle the underlying trade. For now, the Justice Department's figures stand as the headline numbers: over 350 arrests worldwide and seizures of drugs, weapons, and more than $234 million, with the Southern District of Ohio among the federal offices helping spread word of the results as they landed Thursday.
