Silk Road 2.0 shut down after international investigation

U.S. and European authorities have arrested 16 suspected members of underground drugs and weapons cybermarkets this week, in addition to the alleged operator of the website known as Silk Road 2.0. The owner of the second-generation underground online drugs marketplace, identified as Blake Benthall, was charged with conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, computer hacking, money laundering and other crimes. Additionally, Around 400 Internet sites and domains, which had been used to sell child pornography, guns and murder-for-hire, were taken down.

They had set up complete business models, just like any web shop. They display what they sell; drugs, weapons, stolen credit cards. People paid and they delivered by the mailman. There was even a ranking system for reliable suppliers.

Troels Oerting, cybercrime center chief at Europol

The operation had knocked out a significant part of the infrastructure for illegal online drugs and weapons trade in the countries involved but black market websites have mushroomed and are created easily, Europol said in a statement. Raids were carried out in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States, in an operation code-named “Onymous.”

We have also hit services on the Darknet using Tor where, for a long time, criminals have considered themselves beyond reach. We can now show that they are neither invisible nor untouchable.

Troels Oerting

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