Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, announces a worldwide crackdown on opioid trafficking on the darknet with FBI Director Christopher Wray, center, and DEA Acting Administrator Timothy Shea, during a press conference at the Department of Justice, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020 in Washington. Law enforcement officials have arrested 179 people and seized more than $6.5 million. The operation announced Tuesday mainly occurred in the U.S. and in Europe. Rosen said the takedown showed “there will be no safe haven for drug dealing in cyberspace.” (Olivier Douliery/Pool via AP)
By Michael Balsamo
Law enforcement officials arrested 179 people and seized more than $6.5 million in a worldwide crackdown on opioid trafficking on the darknet, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday.
The operation, which mainly occurred in the U.S. and in Europe, comes more than a year after officials took down the "Wall Street Market," which was believed to be one of the largest illegal online marketplaces on the darknet.
The darknet is a part of the internet hosted within an encrypted network and accessible only through specialized anonymity-providing tools, most notably the Tor Browser.
As part of the initiative, law enforcement officials seized over $6.5 million in cash and virtual currency, in addition to 500 kilograms of drugs, the Justice Department said. About 275 kilograms of drugs, including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and other opioids, had been seized in the U.S.
The arrests include 121 made in the U.S., two in Canada, 42 in Germany, eight in the Netherlands, four in the United Kingdom, three in Australia, and one in Sweden. The Justice Department said its investigation was ongoing and investigators were still working to identify other individuals behind darknet accounts.
Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said the takedown showed "there will be no safe haven for drug dealing in cyberspace."
Integrity Marketing Group, nation's largest independent distributor of life and health insurance products, is showing its employees it cares. The company surprised its 5,500 employees with $125 million in cash payouts to those participating in the company's Employee Ownership Plan. Bryan Adams, CEO of at Integrity Marketing Group, and Steve Young, NFL Hall of Famer and chairman of the board at Integrity Marketing Group, join Cheddar News to talk about the announcement.
Anthony Tall, sports agent and president of Miracle Sports Agency, joins Cheddar News to talk about the challenges professional sports leagues are facing amid a surge in coronavirus cases across the U.S.
Jilly Stephens, CEO of City Harvest, joins Cheddar News to discuss food insecurity. She also offers tips on how people can volunteer at their local food bank this holiday season.
Todd Kaplan, Pepsi's Vice President of Marketing, joins Cheddar News to discuss the company's first-ever non-fungible token with its Pepsi Mic Drop genesis NFT collection.
This year, consumers might not be as surprised by what's under their trees as by the trees themselves. Despite a tighter market for trees, Stew Leonard's was able to secure its entire stock of Christmas trees from a supplier in Quebec. But some prices jumped this year as a result of increased costs for shipping and labor amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Cheddar's Chloe Aiello reports.
Dr. Travis Langley, Professor of Psychology at Henderson State University, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss why the Joker is widely considered the best villain of all time and a prevailing figure in pop culture and provides insight into the psychological and cultural reasons we find him so fascinating.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Dr. Travis Langley, Professor of Psychology, Henderson State University, discusses why the Joker is widely considered the best villain of all time and a prevailing figure in pop culture and provides insight into psychological and cultural reasons we find him so fascinating; Jonathan Gayles Professor and Chair, Department of Africana Studies at Georgia State University, dissects the diversity efforts in representations of superheroes and villains in comics and Hollywood films; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'My Comic Shop Country.'
Jonathan Gayles Professor and Chair, Department of Africana Studies at Georgia State University, joins Cheddar Reveals to dissect the diversity efforts in representations of superheroes and villains in comics and Hollywood films.
The Cowboy State has become one of the world's top tax havens, according to the Pandora Papers, a trove of more than 11.9 million documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and The Washington Post. The papers reveal, among other things, how ultra-wealthy people from around the world move money into the U.S., invest, and spend it under a shroud of secrecy. Allison Tait, University of Richmond law professor, joined Cheddar to talk about Wyoming's laidback tax laws, their impact on the nation's economy, and provided some details on the financial arrangement known as the "cowboy cocktail."
