[German]In a coordinated opration, international law enforcement agencies led by the German Federal Criminal Police (BKA) have arrested 179 persons involved in the purchase and sale of illegal goods and services in the Dark Net all over the world. The police have warned cyber criminals that "the golden age of the Dark Net is over".
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The coordinated action was conducted by the German Federal Criminal Police with the support of the Dutch National Police, the UK National Crime Agency, U.S. government agencies such as the Department of Justice and the FBI, Europol and others under the name DisrupTor. DisrupTor targets sellers and buyers of illegal goods on the Dark Web.
Wall Street Market seizure delivered data
This operation follows the seizure of the Wall Street Market in May 2019, at that time the second largest illegal online market in the world in the dark web. Led by the German Federal Criminal Police Office and with the support of the Dutch National Police (Politie) Europol, Eurojust and various U.S. government agencies, this operation provided investigators with quantitative data and materials to identify suspects behind dark web accounts used for illegal activities.
Arrests of the 179 Dark Net actors
As a result, 179 vendors involved in tens of thousands of sales of illegal goods were arrested throughout Europe and the United States as part of Operation DisrupTor. Over $6.5 million in both cash and virtual currency was seized, along with approximately 500 kilograms of drugs, including fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, MDMA and drugs containing addictive substances, and 64 firearms. Arrests were made in the United States (121), Germany (42), the Netherlands (8),
