From the Liveblog of
Thursday, July 20, 2017
US, European police say ‘dark web’ markets shut down
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleUS and European police announce the shutdown of two huge “dark web” marketplaces that allowed the anonymous online trade of drugs, hacking software and guns.
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions says underground websites AlphaBay and Hansa had tens of thousands of sellers of deadly drugs like fentanyl and other illicit goods serving more than 200,000 customers worldwide.
“This case, pursued by dedicated agents and prosecutors, says you are not safe, you cannot hide. We will find you, dismantle your organization and network, and we will prosecute you,” Sessions says in a warning to dark web entrepreneurs.
The announcement comes three weeks after AlphaBay stopped functioning with no explanation.
On July 5, the Canadian national who ran AlphaBay, Alexandre Cazes, was arrested in Thailand. Earlier this week, Cazes was found dead in his Thai police cell, with police saying he apparently hanged himself with a towel.
AlphaBay’s shutdown sent traffic flooding into the smaller Hansa marketplace. But that new traffic, tens of thousands of users, was unaware that Dutch police had already secretly taken control of Hansa, giving them the ability to identify and track buyers and sellers of illicit goods.
The Hansa market has also now been shut down, says Europol executive director Rob Wainwright.
— AFP
The Times of Israel Community.