Illegal websites hit in major dark web police raid

If you think you’re safe carrying out illegal activity on the dark web, think again.

That’s the message from Europol, the law enforcement agency of the European Union, after a major takedown of two dark web marketplaces pedalling illicit drugs and illegal products across the globe, including 150 arrests in eight countries.

In an extensive coordinated effort, police around the world arrested 150 alleged suspects allegedly involved in tens of thousands of sales of illicit goods on the dark web.

The dark web is an encrypted network that uses the internet, but requires specific software to access. It is designed to ensure the user's anonymity. — The dark web is an encrypted network that uses the internet, but requires specific software to access. It is designed to ensure the user’s anonymity. (AAP)

Australian Federal Police were involved in the operation, including crucial work that laid the foundation for the global sting, but no arrests were made in Australia.

Police working on Operation Dark HunTOR seized more than $41 million in cash and cryptocurrencies, 234-kilograms of drugs and 45 guns.

Seized drugs included 152kg of amphetamine, 27kg of opioids and more than 25,000 ecstasy pills.

Operation Dark HunTOR arose from the landmark January takedown of Dark Market, the world’s then-largest illegal marketplace on the dark web, which was allegedly run by a 34-year-old Australian man, who was arrested near the German-Danish border.

After the Australian’s arrest, triggered by an AFP investigation, German authorities took control of the Dark Market website and its infrastructure and provided investigators across the world with a trove of evidence.

The AFP had “established the whereabouts of European-based Australian citizens” who were acting as administrators of Dark Market, an AFP spokesperson told 9News.com.au.

Since then, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre have been steadily compiling intelligence to identify key targets.

That work led to today’s arrest of 150 vendors and buyers in the US, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Bulgaria.

A number of suspects are considered “high-value targets” by Europol.

During the operation, Italian authorities shut down the DeepSea and Berlusconi dark web marketplaces, which together boasted over 100,000 listings of illegal products.

Four administrators were arrested, and $5.5 million in cryptocurrencies seized.

Europol’s Jean-Philippe Lecouffe said Operation Dark HunTOR had dealt a serious logistics and psychological blow to dark web criminals.

“The point of operations such as the one today is to put criminals operating on the dark web on notice,” he said.

“The law enforcement community has the means and global partnerships to unmask them and hold them accountable for their illegal activities, even in areas of the dark web.”

The dark web is part of the internet that isn't visible to search engines and requires the use of an anonymizing browser called Tor to be accessed. — The dark web is part of the internet that isn’t visible to search engines and requires the use of an anonymizing browser called Tor to be accessed. (Getty Images/Cultura RF)

AFP involvement in Operation Dark HunTOR included “executing search warrants and conducting investigations into the sale of illicit drugs” in Australia through the darknet, an AFP spokesperson told 9News.com.au.

The spokesperson confirmed investigations conducted by AFP Cybercrime Operations resulted in the AFP executing search warrants in Queensland in January 2021 and in September 2021 in association with alleged Australian-based Dark Market administrators.

Investigations are ongoing.

The dark web is an encrypted network that uses the internet, but requires specific software to access.

It is designed to ensure the user’s anonymity.

The dark net’s ease of access and encryption software has made it an attractive tool for criminals, including drug dealers, counterfeiters, scammers, pedophiles and terrorists.

Software to access the dark web can be downloaded from the normal web.

Once in the dark web, users can find websites and services through a browser similar to the normal web or through instructions gained from other users.

The boom in cryptocurrency is also driving increasing numbers to the dark web.