Cops seize Archetyp, arrest bosses of "longest-standing" dark web drug marketplace
"The platform’s endurance, scale and reputation place it alongside now-defunct darknet markets like Dream Market and Silk Road."
European police have shut down a huge global dark web drug market called Archetyp, arresting its leaders and seizing millions of euros worth of assets.
Between 11 and 13 June, more than 300 officers took part in coordinated actions across Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, and Sweden, targeting the administrators, moderators, key vendors, and technical infrastructure of the drug bazaar.
Archetyp Market has been in operation for more than five years and serves illegal substances to more than 600,000 people across the planet. Europol claimed its total transaction volume was at least 250 million euros, with 17,000 listings.
It was one of the only darknet markets that allowed the sale of fentanyl and other dangerous synthetic opioids.
Machine has reviewed dark web discussions about the seizure. We understand that the suspects who have been arrested allegedly include the marketplace's boss, who uses the name YosemiteGhostWrite, as well as a moderator called LeChocolate - who is specifically named in a weird video Europol made to announce the seizure.
When did the police seize Archetyp and bring it down?
News of problems with Archetyp first began to circulate last week, when YosemiteGhostWrite (YGW) posted a signed message which said the marketplace was down for maintenance.
However, questions about whether this post was genuine quickly began to circulate.
In a PGP signed message published today, a spokesperson for the market wrote: "Everything is confirmed now, Archetyp is seized, YGW is under arrest and potentially one or more staff members.
"Extremely sad day, I had a LOT of respect for YGW and how he handled things and I hope things work out 'favourably' enough for him."
READ MORE: Europol smashes dark web drug networks, arrests 270 vendors and buyers
They also offered the following advice to vendors and customers of the marketplace: "Clean house if you think this will affect you in any way. But if so, re-think your OpSec decisions."
In a similar message posted on June 12 after YGW's "maintenance" announcement, the spokesperson said: "I am writing this message pre-emptively after just now seeing that YGW has signed a message to confirm the maintenance downtime, following my mega thread post.
"My immediate thoughts are, this is not YGW. The explanation for the downtime is not in any way logical and grammatically incorrect. It does not read like him, but rather an attempt to impersonate."
A coordinated strike across Europe
Europol said that the platform’s infrastructure in the Netherlands has now been taken offline and its alleged administrator – a 30-year-old German national – was arrested in Barcelona, Spain. It did not identify this person under the codename YGW.
In Germany and Sweden, another moderator and six of the marketplace’s biggest vendors were also arrested and cops seized assets worth 7.8 million euros.
As well as dangerous new drugs like fentanyl, Archetyp also facilitated the sale of more mainstream substances like MDMA and cocaine.
"The platform’s endurance, scale and reputation within the criminal community place it alongside now-defunct darknet markets such as Dream Market and Silk Road, both notorious for their role in facilitating online drug trafficking," Europol wrote.
READ MORE: Inside the shadowy world of dark web Initial Access Brokers
The takedown followed years of intensive investigative work, which mapped the platform’s technical architecture and identified its operators. This involved tracing financial flows, analysing digital forensic evidence, and working closely with partners on the ground, enabling cop to "deliver a decisive blow to one of the most prolific drug markets on the dark web."
Jean-Philippe Lecouffe. Europol’s Deputy Executive Director of Operations, said: "With this takedown, law enforcement has taken out one of the dark web’s longest-running drug markets, cutting off a major supply line for some of the world’s most dangerous substances.
"By dismantling its infrastructure and arresting its key players, we are sending a clear message: there is no safe haven for those who profit from harm."
Fentanyl and a darker side of the dark web
On dark web forums, commenters speculated about whether the sale of fentanyl made Archetyp a target.
"Fentanyl is one of the cartel's newest items to push out en masse, but it's a cheat code for natural selection," one anonymous person wrote. "Not in the way of fatalities, necessarily. It brings pressure off the guys who aren't trying to poison their fellow man. When you blatantly and openly sell fentanyl related products, it makes people selling things like psychedelics and ketamine look like saints."
Another added: "These markets really need to just stop allowing fentanyl ffs. That shit carries a radioactive target on its back and its not worth it just to have that corner of the market online."
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