EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
AlphaBay and Hansa–two of the largest marketplaces found on the dark web, have been shut down after an international law enforcement effort that included the FBI, the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Dutch National Police, along with help from police from the UK, France, and Lithuania.
Europol and the US Department of Justice announced the sting operation today. The websites in the cross-hairs are associated with trade in drugs, weapons, malware, and stolen data, among other illicit things. On AlphaBay alone, more than 250,000 listings promoted illegal drugs and toxic chemicals, according to Europol. To put that number in context, Silk Road only had 14,000 when it was seized in 2013, according to the DOJ.
