After six years of operating in the service of criminals around the world, Russian-tied dark web market Hydra was finally shut down by German police after lengthy investigations led to the seizure of the servers and cryptocurrency of their administrators.
What Happened: After receiving a tip, German police were able to seize Hydra's servers and confiscate €23 million ($25.2 million) worth of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), according to a Wednesday BBC report. Over 17 million customers and over 19,000 seller accounts were registered on the marketplace, and visitors attempting to access the site are now met with a police seizure notice.
Hydra specialized in same-day "dead drop" drug delivery services, which saw vendors hide their goods in public places and provide instructions on how to find them to the buyer. Shortly after German authorities announced their action, the U.S. Treasury Department also issued sanctions against Hydra "in a coordinated international effort to disrupt proliferation of malicious cybercrime services, dangerous drugs, and other illegal offerings available through the Russia-based site."
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The Hydra website was in Russian and operated in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and surrounding countries. A representative of the German police force said that the operation was initiated following a tip-off by U.S. officials that suggested that the website's infrastructure was located in Germany.
German authorities admit that they fear this will not be the end of the criminal career of Hydra's team, unless authorities are be able to find and apprehend them. A representative said that authorities "know they will find another way to do their business. They will probably try to build a new platform, and we will have to keep our eye on it. We don't know the perpetrators, so that's the next step."
Photo: Courtesy of Richard Patterson on Flickr
