Law enforcement officials apprehended a German individual for operating an illicit online marketplace
The Bust of Archetyp Market: One of the Oldest Dark Web Markets for Criminal Activities Taken Down
In a joint operation, European law enforcement agencies have successfully dismantled Archetyp Market, a long-standing market on the dark web used for unlawful activities. This notorious platform was a hub for illicit drug sales, dealing in substances like heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, and more.
The alleged mastermind behind "Archetyp Market," a 30-year-old German national going by the aliases "YosemiteGhostWrite" and "BigBossChefOfArchetyp/ASNT," was apprehended by Spanish authorities in Barcelona. The platform's infrastructure, housed in the Netherlands, was also deactivated as part of the operation.
According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the suspect operated the illegal online marketplace with several moderators. Over a period of more than five years, Archetyp had attracted a global user base of over 600,000, and facilitated transactions worth at least €250 million.
Following the arrest of the main suspect, additional searches were conducted in Germany, Hannover, the district of Minden-Lübbecke, and the Romanian capital Bucharest. Assets worth approximately 7.8 million euros and numerous pieces of evidence were secured. Further raids were conducted in Sweden, targeting moderators and vendors who sold drugs on the platform.
In total, authorities seized drugs and conducted searches at locations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Hesse, and Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The marketplace, with over 2,800 sales offers, was one of the largest marketplaces for drug offers in the German darknet, solely accepting payment in the cryptocurrency Monero.
While the removal of ArcheYP Market represents a significant disruption to the online narcotics trade, experts caution that the broader network of vendors and buyers persists. The operation, codenamed "Deep Sentinel," involved police forces in Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, and Sweden and highlights strong international collaboration in tackling dark web drug markets.
In the aftermath of the operation, it's expected that discussions regarding the role of technology in combating general-news like cybercrime and crime-and-justice issues will become more prevalent. For instance, the dismantling of ArcheYP Market, a notorious dark web hub for illicit activities, demonstrated the potential of advanced technology in tracking and disabling such platforms.
