Dark web drug market busted by European and U.S. authorities
FILE PHOTO: General view of the Europol building in The Hague, Netherlands December 12, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier/ File Photo
BRUSSELS - Police across Europe have dismantled a dark web drug marketplace known as 'Archetyp Market', the pan-European Europol police body said on Monday, which added that U.S. authorities had also assisted them in the operation.
Europol said police operations took place last week across Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden to dismantle the dark web Archetyp Market.
It added that the platform's infrastructure in the Netherlands was taken offline and that a 30-year-old German who was the administrator had been arrested in Barcelona.
Europol said Archetyp had been one of the few darknet markets that allowed the sale of fentanyl and other highly potent synthetic opioids.
"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," added Lecouffe. REUTERS
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