Black Hat Briefings

European Dark Web Drug Ring Busted By Authorities

Some of the bags of ecstasy tablets seized in the raid.

According to a report that appeared in Yle Uutiset, a Finnish publication, police has busted and closed down a multi-million dollar European dark web drug racket in Finland.
Officials said that three Finns who had exceptionally good IT skills were running a smuggling operation valued at 2 million euros or $2.26 million.

The three Finns have been detained by the officials, and they believe the culprits are part of a dark web marketplace that is operating in the country.
The three Finns were instrumental in bringing in as much as 30,000 LSD tablets, 40,000 ecstasy tablets and as much as 40 kilograms of several other drugs, including heroin, methamphetamines, and cocaine into Finland.
It is alleged that they have been carrying out the drug smuggling operation for two years now after starting their activities on the now defunct dark web marketplace Silk Road 2.0, which came into existence following the
According to customs authorities, the Finns brought the drugs into the country from the Netherlands and Germany by hiding them in the wilderness, including birdhouses, among other places.
According to Hannu Sinkkonen, a customs official, a very professional operation was launched to capture the culprits. Further, the customs officials in Finland released some photos and screenshots of the operation.
The Finnish Customs apprehended the suspects through a joint investigation that was carried out with the help of officials belonging to the law enforcement agencies in Netherlands, USA, Latvia, Europol, and Germany.
The customs officials have also reported the seizure of a significant amount of cash in euros, an unspecified amount of bitcoins and movable property worth nearly 1 million euros. It is estimated that all the drugs sold by the suspects over the dark web would yield more than 10 million doses.

European dark web drug racket in Finland.

The dark web marketplace operating in Finland allegedly communicated with the prospective buyers through PGP encrypted channels.
The online store operating on Tor network would deliver the consignments through the domestic postal service to pre-specified nest boxes and/or other caches or dead drops.
The customs department in Finland seized narcotics worth more than 1.1 million euros (street value) as much as 15 kilograms, while they were being brought in from the Netherlands.
Currently, the three suspects are awaiting trial by the Finland Proper District Court. The court is due to consider the charges leveled against them by the end of September.
Bitcoin is one of the most favored currencies for transactions involving drugs, contraband goods, and weapons on the dark web.
The reason for the popularity of bitcoin could be attributed to the belief that the transactions executed using the digital currency cannot be traced.
At best, bitcoin transactions are pseudonymous. The transactions can be tracked with the help of a few tools.
This is to say that the emergence of new tracking tools would lead to an increase in the conviction rates for sale of illegal goods on the dark web in the near future.