Security News > 2021 > January > German Police Take Down 'World's Largest Darknet Marketplace'
A German-led police operation has taken down the "World's largest" darknet marketplace, whose Australian alleged operator used it to facilitate the sale of drugs, stolen credit card data and malware, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Police in the northern city of Oldenburg "Were able to arrest the alleged operator of the suspected world's largest illegal marketplace on the darknet, the DarkMarket, at the weekend," prosecutors said in a statement.
"Investigators were able to shut down the marketplace and turn off the server on Monday," they added, calling it the culmination of a months-long international law enforcement operation.
The marketplace offered for sale "All kinds of drugs" as well as "Counterfeit money, stolen and fake credit card data, anonymous SIM cards, malware and much more".
The American FBI, DEA narcotics law enforcement division and IRS tax authority took part in the probe along with police from Australia, Britain, Denmark, Switzerland, Ukraine and Moldova.
The German prosecutors said DarkMarket came to light in the course of major investigation against the Dutch web-hosting service Cyberbunker, which is accused of being a haven for cybercrime and spam.