Operation Deep Sentinel is the latest international law enforcement collaboration against cybercrime, shutting down Archetyp – one of the largest dark web drug marketplaces.
Launched in 2020, Archetyp was Europe’s longest-serving drug market at the time of its takedown last week, and authorities today confirmed a number of key arrests.
Its alleged administrator, a 30-year-old German national who has not yet been named, was cuffed by officers at his apartment in Barcelona, and “measures were taken in Germany and Sweden against one moderator and six of the marketplace’s highest vendors,” officials stated.
The Register asked the authorities involved for more details on these measures, and they clarified this meant arrests only. They were not able to release personal information at this stage.
The suspected admin of the operations owns property in Hanover and Bucharest too, all of which were searched by domestic law enforcement.
Led by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Deep Sentinel also released a cartoon-style video teasing the takedown’s inner workings and yet-to-be confirmed details, as has become the norm following the likes of Operation Endgame and Operation Magnus.
Over the three days of action, more than 300 officers contributed to Deep Sentinel, many of which were involved in property searches across Germany and Sweden.
The video offered suggestions that multiple arrests were made at all levels of the Archetyp hierarchy, and although Europol’s official announcement only confirmed one was made – the 30-year-old German – the BKA said seven people were arrested in Sweden.
The BKA also said 20 additional properties were searched, mainly targeting Archtetyp moderators and vendors. In total, police seized 47 smartphones, 45 computers, as well as narcotics and other assets, which will be analyzed for further investigative leads.
“With this takedown, law enforcement has taken out one of the dark web’s longest-running drug markets, cutting off a major supply line for some of the world’s most dangerous substances,” said Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, deputy executive director of operations at Europol.
“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.”
Archetyp’s website went down ostensibly for maintenance late last week, sparking fears among users that the admin was pulling an exit scam – taking all user and vendor market balances and disappearing.
The marketplace had more than 600,000 users with a total transaction volume of at least €250 million ($289 million). €7.8 million ($9 million) was seized from Archetyp’s biggest vendor alone.
Archetyp had more than 17,000 listings at the time of its takedown from around 3,200 registered vendors, and was one of the few marketplaces of its kind that allowed the sale of fentanyl. The scale of its operation puts it on a similar level to the dark web’s previous marketplace monopolizers such as Dream and Silk Road.
Payments on the platform were made exclusively with Monero, a privacy-enhanced cryptocurrency the architecture of which makes tracing blockchain transactions much more of a pain for authorities.
Europol said: “The takedown follows years of intensive investigative work to map the platform’s technical architecture and identify the individuals behind it. By tracing financial flows, analyzing digital forensic evidence, and working closely with partners on the ground, authorities were able to deliver a decisive blow to one of the most prolific drug markets on the dark web.”
Germany led Operation Deep Sentinel, but authorities from other countries also assisted in the Europe-wide efforts, including the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the US. ®
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