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Handcuffs (symbol picture): Arrests were made in several countries
Photo: Sven Hoppe / dpa
International investigators have arrested 150 people allegedly involved in illegal business, 47 of them in Germany.
This reports Europol.
According to the European police authority, more than 26 million euros were confiscated in the course of the campaign against crime in the so-called Darknet.
In addition, 234 kilograms of drugs and 45 firearms were seized, it is said.
Europol classified some of the suspects as "high-level targets".
The »Dark HunTOR« campaign, coordinated by Europol, took place in nine countries, including Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the USA.
It was aimed specifically at providers and buyers on darknet platforms, i.e. online black markets for illegal goods.
The Dark HunTOR investigation resulted in 65 arrests in the USA and 24 in Great Britain. The drugs seized included 152 kilograms of amphetamines, 27 kilograms of opiates and more than 25,000 ecstasy pills.
In the course of the campaign, two illegal online marketplaces called "Deep Sea Market" and "Berlusconi Market" were closed in Italy, on which more than 100,000 offers of illegal products could be found, it is said.
Findings from the world of the »DarkMarket«
According to Europol, the »Dark HunTOR« campaign followed the closure of the »DarkMarket« offer at the beginning of the year.
At the time, German investigators arrested the alleged operator of what is supposedly the world's largest online black market and excavated the service's infrastructure.
"DarkMarket" is said to have been a 34-year-old Australian at the time of his arrest.
According to Europol, the success of the DarkMarket investigation enabled a wealth of evidence to be collected and made available to prosecutors worldwide.
The investigations are still ongoing in several countries, Europol has now announced.
So there may be more arrests pending.
mbö / dpa