United States, Europe Shut Down Major Dark Web Fentanyl Market

The United States partnered with European authorities to shut down one of the world’s largest darknet drug trafficking websites, which is also one of the few online marketplaces for fentanyl.

American officials partnered with Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, to shut down Archetyp Market, which authorities say had trafficked at least $290 million worth of drugs to more than 600,000 users over five years.

A law enforcement coalition that included the national police forces of several European nations and multiple American agencies conducted a three-day operation across five countries. Officers seized Archetyp Market infrastructure in the Netherlands and arrested a 30-year-old German administrator in Barcelona.

One Archetyp Market moderator and six of the market’s highest vendors were also apprehended, along with around $9 million in assets.

“With over 17,000 listings, it is one of the few darknet markets that allowed the sale of fentanyl and other highly potent synthetic opioids,” Europol wrote on its website.

The operation required “years of intensive investigative work” to “map the platform’s technical architecture and identify the individuals behind it.” Law enforcement achieved this by “tracing financial flows, analysing digital forensic evidence, and working closely with partners on the ground.”

“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.” Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, deputy executive director of operations at Europol, stated, per Reuters.

“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.”

All that’s left of the site is a seizure banner and a link to “Operation Deep Sentinel,” a video warning any remaining users that “Everything comes to an end.”