FBI And Half The World Bust Operators Of A Site That Made The Dark Web Searchable
from the deep-dot-web-is-dead,-making-way-for-deep-dot-web-2.0 dept
Because it's so much easier to bust websites than actual criminals, police in Israel have decided to arrest the people behind a dark web site that made the dark web searchable. Zack Whittaker has the details for TechCrunch.
The FBI have arrested several people suspected of involvement in running Deep Dot Web, a website for facilitating access to dark web sites and marketplaces.
Two suspects were arrested in Tel Aviv and Ashdod, according to Israel’s Tel Aviv Police, which confirmed the arrests in a statement earlier in the day. Local media first reported the arrests.
Arrests were also made in France, Germany and the Netherlands. A source familiar with the operation said a site administrator was arrested in Brazil.
That may have been who effected the arrests, as cops say. But the United States had its hand in this action. Deep Dot Web's landing page has been defaced by the FBI and its multitude of task force logos, indicating the investigative agency now controls the site.
The wording on the FBI's new landing page says something about money laundering, but that seems to a stretch. As Whittaker describes it, the site made money with referral links, connecting users with other sites. What it didn't do was offer any illegal items itself, even if it made it possible for users to find and purchase those items on their own.
Of course, if the site was taking a cut of the profits from illegal sales, that's a completely different thing. A percentage of contraband is just contraband. It doesn't seem to add up to money laundering, though, but that's what's alleged in the FBI's site seizure notice.
Whoever's behind this site had better hope they don't end up being tried in the United States. The person behind dark web drug marketplace Silk Road received consecutive life sentences from a New York judge. The DOJ recommended Ross Ublricht, a.k.a. the Dread Pirate Roberts, be held personally accountable for all $184 million-worth of drugs sold via the Silk Road.
Over in England, the person behind Silk Road 2.0 -- which did double the business of the original Silk Road -- received a five-year sentence for doing the same thing Ulbricht did, only better.
It's a big score for a number of law enforcement agencies around the world, but so far, none of them want to talk about it. None of the multiple agencies involved have delivered statements or returned requests for comment. So, we'll just have to wait to see how this will all shake out. The US government's dark web investigations have not been without their problems or free from vindictive prosecutorial behavior.
The international game of whack-a-mole will continue as governments around the world continue to believe they can keep buyers from finding sellers by shutting down one portal at a time.
Filed Under: dark web, deep dot web, fbi, money laundering, search
Companies: deep dot web
