It is quite common to take down the law enforcement on Dark Web marketplaces and criminal trading hotspots, but it is unusual for the use of websites that include Dark Web-related resources in the same way. In the case of DeepDotWeb, however, this appears to be exactly what has happened. DeepDotWeb was available on the clear and Dark web and was a website that added news on underground trade and cryptocurrency to present up-to-date and hidden URL lists of underground sites. DeepDotWeb is not available at the time of writing beyond a domain seizure notice. The notice is issued stating that the FBI has taken down the website under ‘ the seizure warrant issued by the United States Attorney General’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania, the Department of Justice (DoJ) Computer Crime and IP and the Organized Crime and Gang Section. ‘ The message also states that the seizure was made through Europol in coordination with European law-enforcement agencies.
The communication mentions 18 USC 1956(h), 981 and 982, which are money laundering laws. Times of Israel reports that two Israelis, a 35-year-old from Tel Aviv and a 34-year-old resident of Ashdod, were arrested in connection with the seizure in France, Germany, the Netherlands and Brazil. Israeli law enforcement has shown that DeepDotWeb administrators were able to raise “million dollars” in a process known as affiliate marketing through darknet references. An operation was published earlier in this month in which the German, US, Netherlands, and French law enforcement agencies worked together with Europol to seize the Wall Street Market server, a market place known for the trade of illegal goods and services on the dark web. News of the investigation and subsequent arrests The seizure happened after the domain operators performed an exit scam and vanished in cryptocurrency with $14.2 million. Three suspected people were arrested. The law enforcement also revealed the closure in 2013 of Silkkitie, another marketplace. The web server that provided the backbone of the market was confiscated by “significant” Bitcoin.
