According to German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the world’s largest marketplace on the dark web, the Russian-language Hydra Market, has been completely shut down.
During the operation, the German authorities were able to seize 543 bitcoins (about $25 million at the current exchange rate) from the criminals. In total, at least three data centers were destroyed, which included more than 500 servers.
An investigation is underway against as yet unknown operators and administrators of the site; it is reported further. They are suspected of trafficking in illegal drugs, forged documents and illegally obtained information.
At the time of the closure, Hydra had about 19,000 registered seller accounts, serving at least 17,000,000 customers worldwide, according to law enforcement officials. At the same time, the Hydra Market turnover in 2020 is estimated by the authorities at 1.35 billion US dollars, which made the site the largest trading platform on the dark web.
Currently, on the main page of Hydra Market, you can see a special notice that says that the site is closed by law enforcement agencies as part of an international operation.
As the BKA announced, the seizure was preceded by extensive investigations that have been conducted by the BKA and the Central Office for Combating Cybercrime (ZIT) since August 2021 and in which several US authorities were also involved.
