Since its inception in 1992, the task force has been responsible for the seizure of approximately $600 million and more than 2100 arrests. The EDTF is the premier money laundering task force in the nation and is comprised of more than 200 law enforcement personnel representing approximately thirty-five (35) federal, state, and local law enforcement and regulatory agencies. 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.
International Police Just Made A Huge Dark Web Bust
The suspect, whose identity remains undisclosed, was found in possession of electronic devices containing incriminating data and keys to access Bitcoin wallets. Simultaneously, Irish law enforcement arrested the second administrator as part of the same operation. The Justice Department established the FBI-led JCODE team to lead and coordinate government efforts to detect, disrupt, and dismantle major criminal enterprises reliant on the darknet for trafficking opioids and other illicit narcotics, along with identifying and dismantling their supply chains. 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 People Are Saying
It’s unclear how big a dent Operation Disruptor will make in the long run; the dark web drug market tends to bounce back, even after the high-profile collapses of marketplaces like the Silk Road and AlphaBay. But even if law enforcement is playing an eternal game of Whac-A-Mole, it’s at least gotten extremely proficient at whacking. According to Europol’s press release, the operation was led by the German Prosecutor General’s Office in Frankfurt and supported by Europol and Eurojust.
Alarming Surge In Ransomware Attacks Shakes Global Businesses
Nemesis was established in 2021 and operated as a criminal marketplace on the darknet, an encrypted network within the Internet that can only be accessed with special anonymity-enhancing browsers. Drug traffickers active on Nemesis sold fentanyl around the world, both on its own and surreptitiously laced into other drugs. As alleged in the complaint and the indictment, Incognito Market was an online narcotics bazaar that existed on the dark web. Since that time, and through its closing in March, Incognito Market sold more than $100 million of narcotics — including hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamines. European law enforcement agencies have dismantled Archetyp Market, a long-running dark web platform used primarily for drug sales, following a coordinated international operation called Operation Deep Sentinel spanning six countries.
Among these features one could find Direct Pay, implying buyers could use their wallets instead of those provided by the marketplace. The BKA also said 20 additional properties were searched, mainly targeting Archtetyp moderators and vendors. In total, police seized 47 smartphones, 45 computers, as well as narcotics and other assets, which will be analyzed for further investigative leads. Such signatures are intended to confirm that vendors still have access to their accounts and have not been arrested or compromised. While the method has its limitations, HugBunter argued that failure to provide a cryptographic signature alongside continued account activity could be telling. The dark web is a collection of sites that are not indexed by search engines and can only be viewed with specialized web browsers designed to provide privacy and anonymity.
Implications For Darknet Users And Ongoing Investigations
After the Biker DLC, players can now purchase buildings for illegal drugs and counterfeit products manufacture, and distribute them through a darknet website called “The Open Road” where law enforcement cannot be notified of the player’s trade. During the same operation, police officers in Europe, South America, Asia, and the United States also seized more than 2 tonnes of drugs (including amphetamines, cocaine, ketamine, opioids, and cannabis), over €184 million ($207 million) in cash and cryptocurrency, and over 180 firearms. The operation, dubbed SpecTor, also included the seizure of 117 firearms, 850 kilograms of drugs — including 64 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics — and $53.4 million in cash and virtual currencies, the U.S. The U.S. portion of the investigation was coordinated through the DOJ’s Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement team, which includes the DOJ, FBI and DEA, among others. Investigations and prosecutions remain ongoing in more than 30 federal districts, the agency said in its statement. Last week, two men, both in custody, were charged in federal court in Chicago with operating “Empire Market,” a dark web marketplace that enabled users to buy and sell more than $430 million in illegal goods and services around the world.
- Many sites specialize in selling illegal goods that are not readily available on the public internet.
- Rui-Siang Lin is a 23-year-old developer who describes himself on LinkedIn as a “crypto enthusiast and developer” from Taiwan.
- Based on a public analysis made by researchers on January 9, 2024, the marketplace had 2,144 users, 237 sellers, 1,102 products, and 1,565 total orders.
- Authorities took offline the marketplace’s infrastructure in the Netherlands and seized assets totaling €7.8 million.
- Since that time, and through its closing in March 2024, Incognito Market sold more than $100 million in narcotics — including hundreds of kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamines.
In October 2021, the defendant also gave a YouTube interview explaining how his anti-DDoS tool “PoW Shield” worked for Pentester Academy TV, demonstrating his technical skills. Later, on May 22, ‘MommaBear’ returned with another post, indicating that the restoration process was ongoing and that he had not abandoned the community. However, there’s no mention of how they’re going to get their money back from ‘FatherBear’. The charges in the superseding indictment are punishable by a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Staying Protected Against Digital Intrusions
They often sell across multiple markets or operate standalone storefronts via encrypted apps like Telegram and Signal. Operational security has increased, with mandatory PGP encryption, two-factor authentication, and more frequent use of VPNs and anonymization tools. While this week’s takedown recalls the 2013 shutdown of Silk Road, the evolution of darknet commerce is stark. Silk Road popularized the use of Bitcoin, anonymizing technologies like Tor, and vendor reputation systems. For over 40 years, PCMag has been a trusted authority on technology, delivering independent, labs-based reviews of the latest products and services.
Dark Web Drug Busts Lead To 150 Arrests
Investigators say they were able to identify individuals behind the platform by tracing digital forensic evidence and observing how money moved through both crypto and traditional financial systems. During the investigation, federal law enforcement seized cryptocurrency valued at $75 million at the time of the seizures, as well as cash and precious metals. Europol said in a statement on Monday that between June 11 and 13, 300 officers were deployed to carry out a ‘series of coordinated actions’ across Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden targeting the platform’s administrators, vendors and technical infrastructure. 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 Netherlands led the technical takedown of the market’s servers, while a 30-year-old German national, believed to be the site’s primary administrator, was captured in Barcelona, Spain. An international law enforcement operation led by Europol dismantled Archetyp Market, the most enduring dark web marketplace. The marketplace enabled the anonymous trade of illicit drugs, including cocaine, MDMA, amphetamines, and synthetic opioids.
Europol Dismantles ‘Archetyp’ Dark Web Drug Market
Hydra was estimated to have been worth over $1.3 billion when German authorities shut it down, took control of its servers and seized its bitcoin assets in April 2022. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan B. Finkel and Nicholas Chiuchiolo are in charge of the prosecution. A seizure notice has replaced the former marketplace, and a message directed at the underground economy has published. 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.
Financial Impact And Marketplace Operations
- Drug traffickers active on Nemesis sold fentanyl around the world, both on its own and surreptitiously laced into other drugs.
- If convicted, Parsarad faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life.
- Investigators received leads from local police departments investigating overdose deaths, including that of a 19-year-old man in Colorado who loved learning languages and building his own computers, according to FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate.
- Incognito Market was a globally available online narcotics bazaar active through Tor web since October 2020, when it was created by Lin.
- 55,000 of these orders—or 13.75% of the total—were for stimulants such as methamphetamine and cocaine, while 17,000 (4.25%) were for opioids such as heroin and fentanyl.
- During an investigation and subsequent arrests, federal law enforcement is said to have seized cryptocurrency valued at $75 million along with cash and precious metals.
Threat actors generally rely on it for its anonymous nature, which often enables them to run illicit schemes. The darknet market also had most of its server infrastructure in the country, which is now under the police’s control. The man was arrested at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam on June 27, 2024, and electronic devices containing incriminating data and access keys to Bitcoin wallets were seized.
The Public
With expert analysis and practical solutions across consumer electronics, software, security, and more, PCMag helps consumers make informed buying decisions and get the most from their tech. From in-depth reviews to the latest news and how-to guides, PCMag is the go-to source for staying ahead in the digital world. Based on a public analysis made by researchers on January 9, 2024, the marketplace had 2,144 users, 237 sellers, 1,102 products, and 1,565 total orders. Lin’s GitHub account describes him as a “backend and blockchain engineer, Monero enthusiast.” This GitHub account has approximately 44 publicly available software coding projects. He has contributed 1,741 times on the platform, and his main projects are related to blockchains, cryptocurrency, and network security. The marketplace had more than 600,000 users with a total transaction volume of at least €250 million ($289 million).
