Why German Authorities Shut Down Largest Darknet Site?
Contrary to traditional web, the “dark web” or the secret “darknet” includes sites that require specific authorization to access and conduct business anonymously without divulging identifying information, making it one of the largest havens for cybercrime and spam.
In the cities of Koblenz and Oldenburg, German prosecutors announced on Tuesday, January 11, 2021, the shutdown of what was "probably the largest illegal marketplace on the darknet," which was called "DarkMarket" while arresting a 34-year-old Australian man who believed to be the marketplace’s operator near Germany's border with Denmark. The accused was reportedly to be the DarkMarket's main operator.
German authorities reportedly said: “Drugs, counterfeit money, stolen credit card data, anonymous SIM cards and malware were all traded on the site,” with around a half million users spending €140 million in transacted operations using cryptocurrencies, the Deutsche Welle (DW) has found.
Largest Darknet Site
German police succeeded on Tuesday, January 11, in dismantling one of the largest illegal online markets in the world on the dark web and reportedly detained the three men allegedly running the so-called DarkMarket, prosecutors said.
The Central Criminal Investigation Department in Oldenburg also arrested an Australian citizen, 34, supposed to be the main operator of DarkMarket near the German-Danish border over the weekend.
The investigation was led by the cybercrime unit of the Koblenz Public Prosecutor's Office, allowing officers to pinpoint and take off the marketplace, “switch off the servers and seize the criminal infrastructure,” with more than 20 servers in Moldova and Ukraine, supported by the German Federal Criminal Police office (BKA), according to myNet.
The stored data will help investigators to further inquire moderators, sellers, and buyers, according to the same source.
Before the closing, the site permitted buying cocaine, heroin, cannabis, papers and counterfeit currency, in addition to providing stolen data, and malicious software where customers used cryptocurrencies in transacted business with a value of €140 million, the DW said.
Half A Million!
The Public Prosecution Office in Koblenz, western Germany said that the market had about half a million users and more than 2,400 sellers around the world when it was closed.
The prosecution also added that the investigators "were able to shut down the site and the server on Monday" after months of investigations carried out with international cooperation, indicating that "more than 20 servers were seized in Moldova and Ukraine.”
The same source claimed that “at least 320,000 transactions were made across the market using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Monero, with a total value of up to 140 million euros,” pointing out that the closed platform was "used to sell drugs of all kinds in particular."
The site was also used to sell “fake currencies, stolen or forged credit card data, mobile phone cards with unknown users,” or even information viruses.
Placed in pretrial detention, the alleged main accused declined to say anything while appearing before a judge.
The shutdown came as a result of cooperation between Police agencies from several countries such as the United States, Britain, Denmark, Moldova, Ukraine, Australia and Switzerland that participated in the investigations, in addition to the European Police Agency (Europol).
The prosecution warned that what was seized will help, from now on, to open new investigations against those who stand behind these encrypted platforms adding that “this market emerged in the context of a major investigation against the Dutch web hosting service 'Cyberbanker,' which is accused of being a haven for cybercrime and spam.”
In September, the International Police put 179 sellers in jail as they were involved in the secret sale of narcotics on the Internet.
After the arrest, the European police officials considered putting an end to the "golden age" of the darknet markets.
International Probe
DarkMarket's shutdown was not the first for the authorities in Germany, as they have found illegal platform operators in recent years.
In 2019, for example, the prosecutors in Koblenz reported that they discovered darknet servers hosted from a former NATO bunker in a German town.
German authorities said at that time that the probe, which uncovered DarkMarket, involved “a months-long international law enforcement operation.”
“US agencies like the FBI, DEA narcotics law enforcement division and IRS tax authority all participated in the investigation, with the help of “police from Australia, Britain, Denmark, Switzerland, Ukraine and Moldova, with Europol playing a coordinating role,” DW reported.
"A total of at least 320,000 transactions were carried out via the marketplace, with more than 4,650 Bitcoin and 12,800 Monero—two of the most common cryptocurrencies," Oldenburg authorities stated.
Two years ago, The Guardian published a report where it announced the shutdown of the encrypted platform Wall Street Market (WSM), which “had more than 1 million customer accounts, over 5,000 registered sellers and more than 60,000 sales offers,” according to Frankfurt prosecutors and affidavits filed by US prosecutors in a federal court in Los Angeles.
The British newspaper also reported that three men, allegedly running this dark web platform, were arrested by the German police.
“WSM operated like a conventional e-commerce website, such as eBay and Amazon. However, its sole existence was geared to the trafficking of contraband,” US prosecutors said.
