Europol arrested 150 people operating in the dark web

Europol and U.S. judicial officials said Tuesday that at least 150 people have been arrested worldwide for operating in the dark web. These people sold hard drugs or weapons and operated mainly in Western countries.

During this global operation, according to Europol, investigations were completed to identify web criminals in several countries (Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States).

This is one of the biggest criminal activities in the secret web of the internet known as the Dark Web, which is known for selling anything illegal.

The operation, known as the “DarkHundor”, involved the seizure of millions of euros in cash and bitcoins as well as drugs and weapons. This became possible after the removal of the “Darkmarket” operating system, the largest black market in cyberspace discovered in Germany, in January.

German police have uncovered an illegal data center set up in a former NATO bunker and are suspected of running several drug trafficking sites, but also servers used to smuggle child pornography or cyber attacks.

Darkhuntor “had separate but complementary operations in Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States,” Europol said.

Less than 45 weapons were seized, and more than 25,000 ecstasy tablets and 26.7 million euros in electronic currency were seized. Sixty-five people were arrested in the United States in the operation. In Germany, there were 47 arrests, in the UK 24, in Italy and the Netherlands 4.

According to Europol’s boss, “the purpose of such actions is to find ways for the community responsible for enforcing the law (and it) to unleash criminals operating in the dark web and international partnerships,” said Europol’s deputy director of operations. , Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, Tuesday.