A global crackdown has shut down dozens of online "dark markets" selling illegal goods and services and masking their identities using the Tor encryption network, officials said Friday. The joint operation by US and European law enforcement arrested 17 people in a massive international operation against the underground bazaars.
"It is a plain fact that criminals use advanced technology to commit their crimes and conceal evidence - and they hide behind international borders so they can stymie law enforcement," said Assistant US Attorney General Leslie Caldwell. "But the global law enforcement community has innovated and collaborated to disrupt these 'dark market' websites, no matter how sophisticated or far-flung they have become."
Investigators from the United States and 16 European countries launched a "joint action" against the markets Thursday, the Europol police agency said in a statement. The crackdown is part of a vast global police operation that included the seizure earlier this week of Silk Road 2.0, the new version of the online black market that sprang up after authorities shut down Silk Road a year ago. Silk Road was the most prominent of the targeted dark markets offering a range of illicit goods and services, from firearms to computer hacking.
Officials said a total of 414 websites and hosting servers were also seized in "Operation Onymous." "The action aimed to stop the sale, distribution and promotion of illegal and harmful items, including weapons and drugs, which were being sold on online 'dark' marketplaces," Europol said. The operation seized virtual Bitcoins, used to carry out transactions, worth $1 million dollars (800,000 euros), 180,000 euros in cash as well as unspecified drugs.
"We are not 'just' removing these services from the open Internet," said Troels Oerting, the head of Europol's EC3 cybercrime unit. "This time we have also hit services on the Darknet using Tor where, for a long time, criminals have considered themselves beyond reach. We can now show that they are neither invisible nor untouchable."
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