This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40670010
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| AlphaBay and Hansa dark web markets shut down | AlphaBay and Hansa dark web markets shut down |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Two of the largest dark web marketplaces have been shut down following a "landmark" international law enforcement investigation. | |
| The AlphaBay and Hansa sites had been associated with the trade in illicit items such as drugs, weapons, malware and stolen data. | The AlphaBay and Hansa sites had been associated with the trade in illicit items such as drugs, weapons, malware and stolen data. |
| Police in the US and Europe collaborated on the operation. | Police in the US and Europe collaborated on the operation. |
| According to Europol, there were more than 250,000 listings for illegal drugs and toxic chemicals on AlphaBay. | According to Europol, there were more than 250,000 listings for illegal drugs and toxic chemicals on AlphaBay. |
| The agency said it believed the bust would lead to hundreds of new investigations in Europe. | |
| "The capability of drug traffickers and other serious criminals around the world has taken a serious hit today," said Europol's executive director Rob Wainwright. | |
| It was a "landmark" operation, according to US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Andrew McCabe. | |
| AlphaBay has been offline since early July, fuelling suspicions among users that a law enforcement crackdown had taken place. | |
| 'You cannot hide' | |
| "We know of several Americans who were killed by drugs on AlphaBay," said US Attorney General Jeff Sessions. | |
| "One victim was just 18 years old when in February she overdosed on a powerful synthetic opioid which she had bought on AlphaBay." | |
| He also cautioned criminals from thinking that they could evade prosecution by using the dark web: "You cannot hide," he added, "We will find you." | |
| Investigations were led by the FBI, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Dutch National Police. | |
| Police in other countries, including the UK, France and Lithuania, also contributed. | |
| The Dutch National Police took over the Hansa marketplace on 20 June after servers in the Netherlands, Germany and Lithuania were seized. | |
| This allowed for "the covert monitoring of criminal activities on the platform" until it was eventually shut down a month later. | |
| Ever since AlphaBay went offline earlier in July, users of the site had discussed potential alternative dark web marketplaces on online forums. | |
| Hansa was frequently mentioned, meaning that the authorities may well have been able to detect new criminal activity on Hansa as users migrated to it from AlphaBay. | |
| An alleged administrator of AlphaBay, 26-year-old Canadian Alexandre Cazes, was arrested in Thailand on 5 July following a joint operation between US, Canadian and Thai authorities. | |
| Police also seized millions of dollars in assets, three properties and four Lamborghini cars. | |
| But Cazes was later found dead in a Bangkok jail cell. | |
| The Department of Justice said that he apparently took his own life. | |
| More to follow... | More to follow... |