Authorities Take Down DarkMarket, the Dark Web’s Largest Illegal Marketplace

An Europol-coordinated international investigation has brought down Darkmarket, the largest operating illegal marketplace in the Dark Web prior to the takedown. The move saw Europol coordinate an international team composed of national security forces working in tandem with Europol’s investigators, and culminated with the arrest (by German forces) of a 34-year-old Australian citizen thought to be the head of the operation near the German-Danish border. The partnership between Germany, Australia, Denmark, Moldova, Ukraine, the United Kingdom (the National Crime Agency), and the USA (DEA, FBI, and IRS), coordinated by Europol, thus put to an end an illegal operation that served some 500,000 users.

The DarkMarket featured over 2,400 sellers, and operated at an annual pace of 320,000 transactions – Europol estimates that the marketplace thus moved some €140 million. The website obviously made use of cryptocurrencies to operate, with an estimated flow-through of about 4 650 bitcoin and 12 800 monero being transferred related to the website’s operation. Users of DarkMarket mainly trafficked in all kinds of drugs and sold counterfeit money, stolen or counterfeit credit card details, anonymous SIM cards and malware. The market’s infrastructure was taken down as well, with the police forces confiscating over 20 servers in Ukraine and Moldova, where the operation was apparently located. Officials said Tuesday that the information gathered from the DarkMarket seizures would hopefully lead to further investigations.