A joint operation across nine counties has led to the arrest of 179 people buying and selling illicit goods and services on the dark web.

“Operation DisrupTor” was led by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation with support from German Federal Criminal Police, Dutch National Police, the U.K. National Crime Agency, U.S. government agencies including the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation and others.

Arrests were made in Austria, Cyprus, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, Canada, the U.K. and the U.S., which had the most arrests at 121. Law enforcement authorities seized the equivalent of $6.5 million, 64 firearms and 500 kilograms of various types of illegal drugs.

“Law enforcement is most effective when working together and today’s announcement sends a strong message to criminals selling or buying illicit goods on the dark web: the hidden internet is no longer hidden and your anonymous activity is not anonymous,” Europol said in a statement today. “Law enforcement is committed to tracking down criminals, no matter where they operate – be it on the streets or behind a computer screen.”

The operation and successful arrests all stem from the successful seizure of the popular Wall Street Market dark web marketplace by German police in 2019. By seizing the site, including its servers, the operation used the information to track down buyers and sellers.

Though arguably a blow to dark web sellers and buyers — in the words of Europol, “the golden age of dark web marketplace is over” — more markets always appear. Taking down dark web sites is often compared with a game of Wack-A-Mole in that when you hit one site, others appear.

That said, the arrests may cause some dark web vendors either to avoid potential exposure or to try to hide their tracks in the future.

“The significance of law enforcement coalitions tackling cybercriminal vendors on marketplaces and their ability to track down vendors may encourage marketplace administrative teams to take more security-aware approaches,” Kacey Clark, threat researcher at digital risk firm Digital Shadows Ltd., told SiliconANGLE. “Marketplaces can be vulnerable to attacks, law enforcement can take down the site and technological problems can disrupt the marketplace’s flow. Recent law enforcement takedowns may force vendors to use markets that enable additional security features, such as PGP encryption, two-factor authentication and the use of Monero to avoid tracking.”

Image: Wall Street Market