Major police operation takes down notorious dark web marketplace Archetyp Market

Date:
Tue, 17 Jun 2025 11:13:00 +0000

Description:
Archetyp Market was seized and defaced, and its alleged admin arrested in
major operation.

FULL STORY

A massive international law enforcement operation has seen one of the longest-standing dark web marketplaces finally taken offline.

Europol said a large-scale operation saw it dismantle Archetyp Market, described as a drug marketplace that allowed, among other things, the sale of fentanyl, one of the most dangerous synthetic opioids out there.

Archetyp Market operated for more than five years, numbering more than
600,000 users, and amassing a total transaction volume of more than $280 million. By the time it was dismantled, it had more than 17,000 listings, Europol claims.

Farewell Archetyp Market

The infrastructure was found in the Netherlands, and was subsequently dismantled.

A 30-year-old German national was found in Barcelona, Spain, and arrested. Measures were taken against one alleged moderator, and six people described
as the marketplaces highest vendors.

The agency did not detail what these measures were, but added that it seized
$9 million in assets.

With this takedown, law enforcement has taken out one of the dark webs longest-running drug markets, cutting off a major supply line for some of the worlds most dangerous substances, commented Europols Deputy Executive
Director of Operations Jean-Philippe Lecouffe.

By dismantling its infrastructure and arresting its key players, we are
sending a clear message: there is no safe haven for those who profit from
harm.

Europol said the action was the result of years of intensive investigative work, during which detectives mapped out the platforms technical architecture and identified the individuals behind it. They were following the money
trail, and analyzed digital forensic evidence, allowing them to determine key players and important locations.

The operation was conducted between June 11 and 13 in five European
countries: Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden.

Besides national police forces and Europol, other agencies were involved as well: Eurojust, and the US Homeland Security Investigations (HSI),
IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the Department of Justice (USDOJ).

======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/major-police-operation-takes-down-notor ious-dark-web-marketplace

$$
--- SBBSecho 3.20-Linux
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)