The number of darknet-related arrests in Germany continues to increase over time. The Brandenburg Police Department announced they arrested a 29-year-old male, who is a well-known vendor on the deep web. Among the products offered for sale were prescription drugs, as well as other undisclosed substances. All of the payments he received were made in Bitcoin.
Germany’s Darknet Scene Takes Another Big Hit
What was once the Wild West of the Internet has turned into an underground movement struggling with anonymity and privacy. At one time, many experts were concerned the deep web would take over real-life crime rates at one point. That never happened, though, as the darknet only” attributes to less than 10% of all global crime.
But that has not kept law enforcement from cracking down on these illegal activities. Mainly Germany is dedicating a lot of resources to bringing deep web vendors to justice, and dozens of arrests have been made this year alone. Late last week, another suspect was detained on suspicion of selling narcotics in exchange for Bitcoin.
In fact, it turns out this 29-year-old male has been active as a deep web vendor for nearly two years. As is the case with most drug dealers, he started out subtle and worked his way up the ranks. Some of his Bitcoin transactions have an estimated value of 10,000 Euro and up, indicating he was quite successful at running his service.
While drug sales are very common on the deep web, they are by no means taking any business away from regular dealers. In fact, it seems traditional drug trafficking continues to become more familiar, whereas the number of darknet sellers is showing signs of stagnation. All of these recent arrests make the “job” of selling drugs online look far less appealing than ever before.
Even though the majority of deep web-related arrests in Germany revolve around drugs and other narcotics, they are not the sole focus of law enforcement agencies. Officials are also monitoring for weapons trades, money laundering, and any other type of illegal services. Counterfeiting operations are also high up on the priority list, as counterfeit money is often being sold on the deep web as well.
Offering illegal services on the darknet may have a certain appeal, but law enforcement agencies are getting better at unmasking these criminals. In most cases, people still use their real addresses when sending or receiving shipments, which will eventually be their downfall. But there are also digital breadcrumbs to follow, and Bitcoin is anything but an anonymous payment method.
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