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Police in New Zealand dismantled a top-tier drug chain on the dark web after a nine-month investigation, taking 11 suspects into custody and seizing cash up to NZ$500,000.
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The officer in charge of the nine-month investigation, Operation Solana, promised to continue fishing out and cracking down criminal ventures hiding behind technology
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On the other side of the world, District Attorney in Manhattan, Alvin Bragg secured guilty pleas from five individuals who shipped 10K+ drug packages across the United States through dark web marketplaces.
Authorities in New Zealand and New York City sent a strong warning to users of illicit online drug markets that the walls are closing in on them after successfully shutting down two major drug trafficking organizations that conducted their business using anonymous marketplaces, encrypted messaging services, and cryptocurrencies.
New Zealand Police Arrest 11 in Nine-Month Dark Web Sting
New Zealand Police’s National Organised Crime Group led Operation Solana for nine months before striking. The investigation focused on a gang that introduced illicit drugs to the nation via marketplaces on the dark web and encrypted messaging apps, then delivered them all over New Zealand with the help of virtual assets as payments to sweep their trails.
Atlas, police apprehended 11 people and broke through the operations of the group. Through numerous search-and-seizures, officers seized significant quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA, and at least NZ$500,000 cash. In addition, they found three firearms, one a 3D-printed firearm.
Detective Senior Sergeant Jason Hunt made it abundantly clear that:
“Crimes on the dark web are not hidden. Police are highly empowered to fish out and take down criminal ventures that think they can hide behind encryption and technology.” Hunt said.
He added that the arrest sends an important warning to anyone still doing business in that space. “If you are into importation or drug business on the dark web, we’ll find you, and we will hold you to account,” he said.
Police verified that the gang allegedly brought in and delivered controlled substances throughout the whole country. They also affirmed that “Operation Solana” won’t be the last of its kind, pointing to the continued efforts of taking down organised crime networks that are harnessing digital anonymity.
Manhattan DA Shuts Down $7.2 Million ‘FireBunnyUSA’ Operation
On the other side of the world, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the guilty pleas and sentencing of five individuals who ran one of the more brazen dark web drug operations in recent memory. Operating under the vendor name “FireBunnyUSA,” the group openly boasted about their “quality, speed of delivery, and stealth” across multiple dark web marketplaces.
The group distributed around 10,000 packages of illegal drugs between January 2019 and August 2022. The company delivered these shipments to consumers nationwide, including direct deliveries to customers in Manhattan, New York, and Washington, D.C.
On April 3, 2025, the group’s leader, Nan Wu, pleaded guilty to Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree and First Degree Money Laundering. He got a 6 and a half-year imprisonment plus 5 years’ supervised parole. As part of his sentence, he agreed to hand over 3,297 Monero, 20 Bitcoin, and $12,857 in cash to the U.S. government.
The other individuals involved in the conspiracy, which included Bowen Chen, Peng Peng Tang, Katie Montgomery, and Zixiang Lin, also received prison sentences and/or probation for their roles in the operation.
DA Bragg credited the outcome to his team’s ability to follow money and evidence through the darkest corners of the internet.
A Global Pattern Law Enforcement is Accelerating
These two cases do not represent isolated victories. They reflect a hardening reality for dark web criminals worldwide. A growing number of law enforcement agencies are creating specialised units, collaborating with partner agencies in various countries to share intelligence about drug traffickers, and developing methods of tracing and tracking digital currencies such as Bitcoin that previously seemed impossible to trace.
The technologies that drug traffickers have relied upon most heavily, such as encryption, anonymous marketplaces, and digital currencies, are becoming the same technologies investigators are using to find and prosecute these traffickers.
This technological pivot is proving effective across all dark web crimes, as evidenced by the global sting that dismantled a child exploitation network, proving that whether the target is drug dealers or predators, the message is the same: the dark web is not as dark as criminals think.
