- Europol eliminates the Archetyp market after five years of investigation
- A person was arrested and “measures” taken against the others
- Millions of different assets have been entered
A huge international law enforcement operation has seen one of the oldest dark web markets ultimately put out of line.
Europol said that a large -scale operation had seen him dismantling the Archeppe market, described as a “drug market” which has, among other things, the sale of fentanyl, one of the most dangerous synthetic opioids on the market.
Archetyp Market has operated for more than five years, with more than 600,000 users and raising a total volume of transactions of more than $ 280 million. As he was dismantled, he had more than 17,000 announcements, according to Europol.
Farewell archetyp market
The infrastructure was found in the Netherlands and was then dismantled.
A 30 -year -old German national was found in Barcelona, Spain, and arrested. The “measures” were taken against an alleged moderator and six people described as “the largest suppliers on the market”.
The agency has not detailed what these “measures” were, but added that it grabbed $ 9 million in assets.
“With this dismantling, the police have removed one of the oldest drug markets in the Dark Web, reducing a large supply line for some of the most dangerous substances in the world,” said the deputy executive director of Europol operations, Jean-Philippe Lecouffe.
“Based on its infrastructure and stopping its key players, we send a clear message: there is no refuge for those who take advantage of the damage.”
Europol said that action was the result of “years of intensive investigation work”, during which detectives traced the technical architecture of the platform and identified the individuals behind it. They followed the monetary track and analyzed digital forensic evidence, allowing them to determine the key players and important locations.
The operation was carried out between June 11 and 13 in five European countries: Germany, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden.
In addition to the national and Europol police, other agencies have also been involved: Eurojust and US in-house security (HSI), the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CP) and the Ministry of Justice (USDOJ).
