Oct 11, 2024Ravie LakshmananCybercrime / Dark Web

The Dutch police have announced the takedown of Bohemia and Cannabia, which has been described as the world’s largest and longest-running dark web market for illegal goods, drugs, and cybercrime services.

The takedown is the result of a collaborative investigation with Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States that began towards the end of 2022, the Politie said.

The marketplace discontinued its operations in late 2023 following reports of service disruptions and exit scams after one of its developers allegedly went rogue in what was characterized by one of the administrators as a “shameful and disgruntled set of events.”

Bohemia is said to have served 82,000 ads worldwide every day, with about 67,000 transactions taking place each month. In September 2023 alone, the estimated turnover was €12 million.

“Some of the sellers in the market advertised shipping from the Netherlands,” the Politie said. “An initial analysis shows that at least 14,000 transactions took place from the Netherlands with a value of at least 1.7 million euros.”

The Politie said it was able to identify several administrators and arrest two suspects, one in the Netherlands and the other in Ireland. In addition, two vehicles and cryptocurrency worth €8 million were seized.

“Administrators, sellers and buyers of and on illegal marketplaces often believe themselves to be elusive to the police and the judiciary,” said Stan Duijf, head of the operations unit of the National Investigation and Interventions.

“By conducting criminal investigations and prosecuting these criminals, it becomes clear that the dark web is not at all as anonymous as users may think. Due to international cooperation, the credibility and reliability of these markets have once again been severely damaged.”

The development comes as Ukrainian authorities have arrested a 28-year-old man for allegedly operating a virtual private network (VPN) that made it possible for people from within the country to access the Russian internet (aka Runet) in violation of sanctions.

The service, which had more than 48 million IP addresses, is believed to have been launched by an unnamed self-taught hacker from the city of Khmelnytskyi in the aftermath of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

The access, Ukraine’s Cyber Police said, was facilitated by setting up an autonomous server room in his apartment, with additional servers rented in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Russia.

“The man advertised his service on his own Telegram channels and thematic communities, as well as on a world-famous IT resource, where he positioned himself as a project developer and found like-minded people,” the agency said.

It also follows the sentencing of two individuals affiliated with a Russian threat group called Armageddon (aka Gamaredon) to 15 years in prison in absentia for carrying out cyber attacks against government entities in the country, per the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

Their identities were not disclosed. However, it’s possible they are Sklianko Oleksandr Mykolaiovych and Chernykh Mykola Serhiiovyc, who were previously sanctioned by the European Council.