Crimemarket Taken Down by German Authorities

German authorities have seized the illegal, German-speaking online trading platform Crimemarket and arrested three people believed to be involved in its operation.

Marketplaces where people trade illegal goods and services are not all that uncommon and law enforcement often takes them down. For example, in 2017, Europol, the FBI and the US Department of Justice, in collaboration with Bitdefender, took down two of the largest illegal marketplaces, Hansa and AlphaBay.

According to the press release posted by the Düsseldorf police, the investigation started in 2020 and focused on “Crimemarket,” which was selling drugs and weapons, but also illegal services such as money laundering, instructions on cybercrime, and even commissioned crimes. In total, the market had over 180,000 registered users, and it was available for everyone, including via Darknet.

“On Thursday, February 29, 2024, a total of 102 search warrants were executed nationwide at the same time in the evening,” said the police. “The local focus of the measures was primarily in North Rhine-Westphalia with 36 search objects. A total of three people were arrested here, including the 23-year-old main suspect at his home address in the Rhine district of Neuss (Korschenbroich).”

The authorities seized phones and various IT devices, including storage, narcotics, and 600,000 euros in cash and movable assets. Also, three people have been arrested in connection with this operation in other federal states.

Of course, the domain address has been seized as well, and authorities say that the investigation will focus on both the marketplace operators and the users.