Key Takeaways
- Two suspects connected to the Cannabia and Bohemia dark web marketplaces were taken into custody by Dutch authorities as part of an escape scam.
- Monthly, the marketplaces handled 67,000 transactions, making them “the largest and longest-running international dark web market.”
- A multi-national investigation resulted in the seizure of assets worth over €8 million ($8.75 million).
Two suspects connected to the dark web sites Bohemia and Cannabia have been taken into custody by Dutch police, who have also seized assets worth over €8 million ($8.75 million).
According to a report on October 8, these arrests came after Dutch police uncovered servers connected to the Dutch markets during a 2022 probe.
Large Dark Web Marketplaces Close
Bohemia and Cannabia was founded in 2021 and mostly marketed illegal goods, particularly DDoS services and cannabis products. “The largest and longest-running international dark web market of all time,” according to Dutch officials, was a sizable market with about 82,000 ads every day.
According to police estimates, the websites handled over 67,000 transactions each month, reaching their greatest revenue of €12 million (roughly $13.12 million) in September 2023.
According to reports, the police inquiry was observed by the administrators of Cannabia and Bohemia, which caused a disruption in their operations. By closing the websites and stealing nearly €5 million (about $5.47 million) in 2023, the administrators are accused of committing an “exit scam.”
Investigation-Related Arrests
Authorities from the US, UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands persisted in their efforts in spite of the departure fraud, which helped to apprehend two suspected administrators.
After being arrested in the Netherlands in June for his involvement in running the dark web marketplace Bohemia, which he joined at the age of 17, one suspect, a 20-year-old British man, made an appearance in a Rotterdam court this week. After Ireland’s Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) conducted an investigation, the other suspect—a 23-year-old Irishman—was arrested in August. Virtual assets worth around €8 million ($8.75 million) were taken by authorities during the arrests.
A law enforcement seizure notice is currently visible on the Bohemia Market website.
Following the destruction of Kingdom Market in December 2023 and the seizure of the Nemesis website by German authorities in March 2024, the latest operation attempts to combat cybercrime and online markets. Two individuals were charged last month with operating the WWH Club dark web marketplace in Russia, which allegedly sold stolen personal data to online criminals.
