"We're Proving the Dark Web Is Not Beyond the Reach of Law Enforcement" Christopher Raia - 11/12/26

The Department of Justice announced the successful conclusion of an international law enforcement operation targeting opioid and fentanyl traffickers on the dark web. This operation resulted in over 350 arrests worldwide, the seizure of drugs, weapons, And over $234 million in illicit proceeds. Operation Tornado was organized through the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement Team, or JCODE, in coordination with the Homeland Security Task Force and the European European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, or EUROPOL. This operation represents the sixth and the most extensive internationally coordinated action since President Trump created J-CODE back in 2018 and builds on the success of last year's Operation Raptor. Thanks to the work of this operation, federal prosecutions are being conducted in more than 30 districts across the United States. Of the hundreds of arrests that were made through this operation, I want to highlight one to illustrate the kind of illegal activities that were targeted by Operation Tornado. 35-year-old Jonathan Gonzalez of South Bakersfield, California, was arrested after being identified as an alleged dark web narcotics vendor under the name Speedy Pharma. He is charged with shipping methamphetamine, black tar heroin, cocaine, and potent K2 paper to multiple addresses across the country. At this individual's residence, federal law enforcement seized nearly 50 pounds of methamphetamine, over 380 grams of black tar heroin, over 580 grams of cocaine, over 40,000 in cash, and three and a half grams of fentanyl. And now, that might not sound like a lot of fentanyl, but remember, the potentially lethal dose of fentanyl, just two milligrams. That means that the amount of fentanyl seized at his residence was potently lethal to over 1,700 people. That's enough fentanyl to kill everyone in a small town or a graduating class of high school or college. Investigators also seized at this same residence 2.8 grams of car fentanyl. There is no doubt that Operation Tornado saved lives across the country, and there is nothing that will stop this administration's commitment to protecting the American people from synthetic drugs which are lethal. In just the past week, the Department of Justice has announced the conviction of three members of a violent Cleveland street gang who were found guilty of RICO murder, RICO kidnapping, and drug trafficking. We arrested a Mexican judge accused of accepting a $2 million bribe in exchange for granting bond and ordering the release of a Canadian drug trafficker. We announced a reward of up to $50 million for information leading to the arrests and or convictions of members of Tren de Aragua. And again, the Department of Justice has made each of these announcements in just the past week. These actions are a small sample of the work our federal law enforcement officers and federal prosecutors have been doing every day of this administration. President Trump took office and said, gave us one directive, to make America safe again. Today's announcement on the success of Operation Tornado is a reminder to parents about the dangerous and illegal activities that occur on the dark web. But it's also a reminder that the Department of Justice, in coordination with our partners across the federal government and across the globe, are working every day to protect the American people from drug traffickers who don't care about what happens to your children, don't care about what happens to you, and will do almost anything to make money. I want to thank the FBI, DEA, IRS, CID, FDA. Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, along with all of our federal, state, and local partners, as well as our international partners for their work that led to the historic results of this operation. Thank you. And with that, I will hand it over to FBI Deputy Director Christopher Rea. All right. Good afternoon. First of all, I want to specifically thank Attorney General Blanche, as always, for your commitment and, of course, your partnership in helping us to protect the American people from criminal organizations that profit from addiction, violence, and now death. Today, we're proving once again that the dark web is not beyond the reach of law enforcement and that there is no safe haven for criminals who traffic this poison. The FBI is honored to join our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners today as we announce the results of Operation Tornado, the most expansive coordinated enforcement action ever conducted under the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement Initiative, also known as J-CODE. Operation Tornado confronted one of the most urgent public safety threats of our time, the trafficking of fentanyl and other deadly drugs through the dark web. For over a year, our teams, in conjunction with our Homeland Security Task Forces around the U.S., worked across jurisdictions, across borders, and across time zones to identify and dismantle criminal networks operating in the shadows of the Internet. Working alongside our domestic and international partners, we identified prolific darknet vendors, attributed online identities to real-world offenders, traced illicit financial transactions, and dismantled key elements of the infrastructure that enabled these networks to operate. The results of this operation are simply astounding. 354 arrests worldwide. 5.7 metric tons of drugs seized. 4.8 of that 5.7 was drugs seized by officials here in the United States. This includes the seizure of 354 kilograms of fentanyl. And if you thought the number that the Attorney General referenced... Of 1,700 people was a lot of people. This was enough lethal doses to kill 177 million American citizens. We also seized 209 firearms and $230 million in cryptocurrencies and cash. At the center of this unbelievable effort is J-Code, the FBI-led DOJ initiative established in 2018 to unify and direct our government's response to darknet-enabled drug trafficking. Over the last eight years, J-CODE has grown into a global enforcement model, bringing together federal agencies, prosecutors, and international law enforcement partners to target the criminal marketplaces and networks fueling the opioid crisis. Through past operations, including Saboteur, Disruptor, Dark Hunter, Spector, and Raptor, J-Code has helped dismantle dark web marketplaces, identify prolific vendors, seize illegal proceeds, and bring offenders to justice. Operation Tornado built on that legacy and represents the culmination of years of coordinated Thank you, Mr. President, And the strength of the partnerships that we have built to confront it. and thank you, This operation brought together specialists from not only here in the United States, Mr. President, but across the world to target and take down not only drug traffickers themselves, and thank you, but financial networks, digital infrastructure, supply chains, and facilitators that these criminals rely on daily. Mr. President. We talk about the value of partnerships because I think this case highlights that piece specifically well. Today's criminal threats, they're not just here in the U.S., they are global. A fentanyl precursor may originate overseas, be advertised through a darknet marketplace, purchased using cryptocurrency, and shipped through multiple countries before ultimately arriving in the hands of an American citizen. No single agency can address a threat of that scale alone. No single country can address a threat. That is why partnership remains our greatest strength, along with that, I want to thank our partners across the Department of Justice, Europol, the agencies represented behind me, all the other domestic and international agencies who collaboration, intelligence sharing, and operational support were absolutely essential. To today's results, the success we announced today was built on trust, coordination, and a whole lot of determination by some very skilled professionals. I have a message for those who want to continue in this illegal activity. If you want to use the dark web to sell fentanyl, synthetic opioids, and other dangerous drugs, let today's announcement serve as a warning. The anonymity you believe protects you is not a shield. We have demonstrated time and time again that even as technology evolves, our law enforcement capabilities evolve even more. Whether you operate from a basement, a warehouse, across the street, or across a body of water, we will work relentlessly to stop you and hold you accountable. The FBI now operates under one single ethos. Justice will find you. And that's exactly what happened here today. Thank you.