US Charges Croatian for Running $18 Million Darknet Drug Site 'Monopoly Market'

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

The U.S. Department of Justice charged a 33-year-old citizen of Croatia and Serbia with allegedly operating a drug trafficking platform called Monopoly Market on the darknet. 

Milomir Desnica is accused of launching and running Monopoly since late 2019, using the platform to facilitate the sale of various drugs including opioids, stimulants, psychedelics, and prescription medications. He made approximately $18 million on the platform through cryptocurrency transactions, the DOJ said. He had been arrested in Austria and extradited to the US last week.

According to the indictment released Friday, Desnica has been wanted by law enforcement since last July and was recently extradited from Austria to face charges in Washington, D.C. The charges against him include money laundering, as well as possession and distribution of approximately 50 grams of methamphetamine.

Desnica allegedly used at least two cryptocurrency exchange services to launder his illicit proceeds. He then sold the cryptocurrency to Serbia-based peer-to-peer traders in exchange for fiat currency, all in an effort to “clean” his earnings, prosecutors said. If proven guilty, Desnica could potentially face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and financial penalties.

Monopoly Market Takedown

Earlier in May, Europol announced the arrest of 288 individuals connected to drug trafficking on Monopoly Market. The arrests were made two years after German authorities secretly seized control of the market's infrastructure.

The operation allowed law enforcement to secretly track drug sales and payments made on the marketplace, as well as analyze communications between the market's operator and vendors. It was through this investigation that law enforcement identified Desnica as the operator of Monopoly Market.

In 2021, law enforcement within the United States placed and received numerous orders for narcotics on Monopoly from various vendors. Authorities were able to order more than 100 grams of methamphetamine on Monopoly. In December 2021, in coordination with foreign law enforcement partners in Germany and Finland, the computer server hosting Monopoly was seized and taken offline. Through analysis of the seized server, law enforcement identified records of the narcotics sales facilitated by Monopoly, financial records documenting cryptocurrency payments on Monopoly, an online forum associated with Monopoly, communications from the Monopoly operator to vendors, commission payment invoices, and more. Through extensive analysis of these records, Desnica was identified as the operator of Monopoly.

It is further alleged that between at least April 2020 and July 2022, Desnica used at least two cryptocurrency exchange services to exchange his illicit cryptocurrency, moving between blockchains used to document all cryptocurrency transactions to “clean” his illicit proceeds. Desnica then sold the illicit cryptocurrency to Serbia-based peer-to-peer traders in exchange for fiat currency, all in an effort to launder the proceeds of the illicit narcotics sales.

In November 2022, in coordination with the Austrian Fugitive Active Search Team (FAST) and the Public Prosecutors Office Vienna, Desnica was located and arrested in Austria. Law enforcement conducted a search of his residence and vehicle, seizing electronics and cash.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Hi-Tech Opioid Task Force and Germany’s Zentrale Kriminalinspektion (ZKI) Oldenburg Cybercrime Unit. The Hi-Tech Opioid Task Force is composed of FBI agents, analysts, and task force partners, including special agents and officers of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and detectives from local assisting police agencies.

The task force is charged with identifying and investigating the most egregious darknet marketplaces and the vendors operating on the marketplaces who are engaged in the illegal acquisition and distribution of controlled substances, including fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other opioids.

The Monopoly Market takedown was one of the largest law enforcement actions taken against a darknet marketplace. The resulting arrests overshadowed the 150 arrests made following the takedown of DarkMarket in 2021, and 179 following the takedown of Wall Street Market in 2019. As part of the overall actions of Operation SpecTor, law enforcement also seized more than $53.4 million in cash and virtual currencies, as well as 850 kilograms of drugs.

Although law enforcement authorities said the arrests won’t disrupt the larger underground drug economy, taking out a market does “disrupt the situation for some time,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Sources DOJ, The Record, Borderland Beat, DOJ, DarkdotNet