According to Europol, the resulting takedown took place between June 11 and 13, with the goal of “targeting the platform’s administrator, moderators, key vendors, and technical infrastructure” across the European continent. “Around 300 officers were deployed to carry out enforcement actions and secure critical evidence,” the agency added. While announced as a package today, the arrests in the US have trickled through over the last several months. In a press conference Tuesday morning, DEA acting administrator Timothy Shea specifically called out Arden McCann, allegedly known as RCQueen, DRXanax, and other aliases across numerous dark web markets. Arrested earlier this year, McCann allegedly shipped over 10 2kilograms of fentanyl and over 300,000 counterfeit Xanax pills every month. What these cases, along with the dozens of arrests across Europe, have in common is that the investigations largely stem from last year’s Wall Street Market takedown.
Cybersecurity and technology analyst Ritesh Kotak, who also started in policing, says the network taken down by the RCMP-led investigation is likely just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to illicit activity on the dark web. Criminals will often use cryptocurrency on the dark web in an to attempt to conceal identities and financial trails, the RCMP said in its release. He recommends verifying market employees carefully, and to weed out law enforcement infiltration through barium meal tests. 47-year-old Rushan Lavar Reed and 28-year-old Celeste Nicole Reed were participating in a long-term trafficking conspiracy that illegally distributed ‘pharmacy grade, not homemade pressed pills,’ according to the U.S. The charges mark the first indictment returned by the newly created Healthcare Fraud Section of the U.S. She writes about cybersecurity startups, cyberattacks in Eastern Europe and the state of the cyberwar between Ukraine and Russia.
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In fact, it is routine for individual’s participating in these dark web communities, par for the course of engaging in the markets. The operation resulted in the seizure of 50.8 million euros ($53.4 million) — in cash and virtual currencies, nearly 1,900 pounds of drugs and 117 firearms in a series of raids in several countries. A nine-count indictment was unsealed in the Western District of Tennessee charging six alleged members of a criminal street gang known as Unknown Vice Lords (UVL) – Ghost Mob with… In 2020, he was named alongside his colleagues as a Pulitzer Prize finalist in explanatory reporting. Previously, he worked at the New York Times and volunteered as a first responder for refugees arriving on the shores of Lesvos.
Illegal Pornography
Persons are also prohibited from causing or conspiring to cause U.S. persons to wittingly or unwittingly violate U.S. sanctions, as well as engaging in conduct that evades U.S. sanctions. Visitors to the Archetyp Market website are now greeted by a banner detailing the takedown. The market’s takedown came after years of effort from Germany, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the United States. Gabriela Silva Ponte has been with CBC Toronto Local News since January 2025, at first in an internship capacity and afterwards as an Editorial Assistant. Previously, she worked in Portuguese media, CBC Dragons’ Den and her university’s school newspaper and radio station.
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- Before these dark web marketplaces were shut down, they sold a range of illegal products, from drugs to firearms.
- Federal prosecutors have accused the men of operating 10 virtual storefronts on 17 different dark web marketplaces from September 2018 through February, the department said in a statement.
- This differentiation will be key to building trust and attracting institutional capital.
- “There’s got to be somebody who’s very proficient in technology, security and forensics to go and be able and track these people.”
While marketplaces pop up like weeds—the notorious AlphaBay was recently resurrected by DeSnake, one of its original administrators—skittish or incarcerated vendors may be harder to come by. The website operated in a format similar to other e-commerce platforms, with product listings, ratings, and user profiles. Vendors offered a range of drugs, including cannabis, cocaine, MDMA, LSD, benzodiazepines, and methamphetamine.17 Substances could be searched for by category, place of origin, and destination. In total, law enforcement officers seized 47 smartphones, 45 computers, narcotics, and assets worth €7.8 million from all suspects during Operation Deep Sentinel. One Archetyp Market moderator and six of the marketplace’s highest vendors were also arrested in Germany and Sweden. The 29-year-old arrested on Monday is accused of acting as technical administrator of Crimenetwork and has been charged with operating a criminal trading platform and dealing in narcotics.
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Postal Inspection Service, and Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York office of Homeland Security Investigations. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melody Wells and Ann Marie Ursini. Payments on the platform were made exclusively with Monero, a privacy-enhanced cryptocurrency the architecture of which makes tracing blockchain transactions much more of a pain for authorities. Launched in 2020, Archetyp was Europe’s longest-serving drug market at the time of its takedown last week, and authorities today confirmed a number of key arrests. 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. Policing involves targeting specific activities of the private web deemed illegal or subject to internet censorship.
The mission of the EDTF is to disrupt, dismantle, or render ineffective, organizations involved in the laundering of proceeds of narcotics trafficking and other financial crimes. Since its inception in 1992, the Task Force has been responsible for the seizure of approximately $600 million and more than 2100 arrests. To become an Incognito Market vendor, people were required to register with the site and pay an admission fee. In exchange for listing and selling narcotics as a vendor on Incognito Market, each vendor paid 5% of the purchase price of every narcotic sold. That revenue funded Incognito Market’s operations, including paying “employee” salaries and for computer servers. To facilitate these financial transactions, Incognito Market had its own “bank,” which allowed its users to deposit cryptocurrency on the site into their own accounts.
The months and years after Silk Road’s closure were marked by a greatly increased number of shorter-lived markets as well as semi-regular law enforcement takedowns, hacks, scams and voluntary closures. According to court documents, for six years, the married couple operated an online storefront called “MrsFeelGood” to illegally distribute a variety of narcotics across the United States. The operation, which took place between June 11 and 13, also targeted the platform’s moderators, top vendors and technical infrastructure, with coordinated raids conducted across Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden, according to a statement by Europol.
Despite the fact Archetyp had clearly raised the bar on security on the dark web, Operation Deep Sentinel – a collaborative effort between law enforcement agencies in six countries supported by Europol and Eurojust – took down the market. Law enforcement shutdowns are also only one type of disruption that dark web communities face. Dark web market users routinely face voluntary closures (the gradual retirement of a market), exit scams (sudden closures of markets where any money in escrow is taken), or even scheduled maintenance of these markets.
This also means that Operation Dark HunTor likely isn’t the final word on dark web arrests and that illicit marketplace vendors may have to proceed with a little more caution. More recently, in September 2024, the BKA and ZIT announced the dismantling of dozens of cryptocurrency exchanges that they accused of enabling money laundering and other offenses. Earlier today, a New York man was resentenced to three years in prison for his creation and operation of BreachForums, a marketplace for cybercriminals to buy, sell, and trade hacked or… Described by blockchain firm Elliptic as “the most prolific crypto-fueled black market ever seen online,” Haowang Guarantee trafficked in laundered USDT, fake IDs, and tools for industrialized fraud, often exploiting victims trapped in scam compounds.
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Darknet markets are, after all, very tiny in the grand scheme of things, the research said. Most recently, Pedro Inzunza Noriega and his son, Pedro Inzunza Coronel, were indicted in California for fentanyl trafficking amid reports linking their Sinaloa Cartel faction to crypto-based laundering through Chinese brokers. Authorities confiscated over two metric tons of drugs, 144 kilograms of fentanyl-laced substances, 180 firearms, and hundreds of millions in crypto assets, as per the DOJ statement released Thursday. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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- Prior to its takedown by law enforcement, narcotics traffickers and cybercriminals openly traded in illegal drugs and services on Nemesis, which was designed with built-in money laundering features.
- In some cases, established sellers on closed-down markets are welcomed onto new markets as digital “refugees” and have joining fees waived.
- The 29-year-old arrested on Monday is accused of acting as technical administrator of Crimenetwork and has been charged with operating a criminal trading platform and dealing in narcotics.
- Authorities believe the man, who allegedly used the pseudonym ASNT, ran the platform as part of an organized criminal group trafficking large quantities of narcotics.
- In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
- The longest-standing dark web drug market worth £200million has been dismantled following a years-long investigation with its alleged mastermind arrested in Barcelona.
The EDTF is the premier money laundering task force in the nation and comprises more than 200 law enforcement personnel representing approximately 35 federal, state and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies. The EDTF’s mission is to disrupt, dismantle or render ineffective organizations involved in the laundering of proceeds of narcotics trafficking and other financial crimes. Since its inception in 1992, the task force has been responsible for the seizure of approximately $600 million and more than 2100 arrests.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice.
The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC’s Frequently Asked Question 897 here.
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BKA’s announcement says investigations into Nemesis Market started in October 2022, involving German, Lithuanian, and American agencies, including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). The platform was active on the darknet, a part of the internet accessible only through specialized tools that provide more anonymity. It was founded in 2021 and had more than 150,000 user accounts and over 1,100 seller accounts worldwide, nearly 20% of the latter in Germany, according to German authorities. The BKA and ZIT coordinated with Dutch authorities during their investigation, specifically the Zeeland-West-Brabant Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Zeeland-West-Brabant Police. The superseding indictment was announced June 14 by HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo, acting U.S.
He made approximately $18 million on the platform through cryptocurrency transactions, the DOJ said. “The comprehensive data seized is now being analyzed and provides further investigative leads,” the agency said, suggesting law enforcement will try to identify users and vendors of the dark web marketplace. What remains to be seen is whether dark web drug buyers will simply find new suppliers, especially since Operation Disruptor targets individual vendors rather than entire marketplaces. At the very least, though, Tuesday’s announcement may give aspiring dark web vendors pause, as it only adds to law enforcement’s track record of cutting through supposedly anonymous corners of the internet. The Wall Street Market seizure is not the first or even most devastating law enforcement takeover of a dark web storefront. In 2017, Dutch police took control of Hansa, a booming darknet market, and the FBI shut down AlphaBay, an even larger competitor.
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Those arrested had sold drugs on a variety of darknet marketplaces, among them AlphaBay, Empire and DeepSea. As large platforms face disruption from law enforcement action, dark web infighting, and an influx of users from Telegram, there’s a growing shift toward smaller, more specialized marketplaces. These new niche sites are focused on specific illicit goods, offering enhanced security and a more targeted environment for buyers and sellers.
