Editing Germany Shuts Down Darknet Platform Specializing In Drugs

<br>BERLIN (AP) - German investigators on Tuesday shut down a Russian-language [https://mydarkmarket.com darknet market] marketplace that they say specialized in drug dealing, seizing bitcoin worth 23 million euros ($25.3 million).<br> <br>Prosecutors in Frankfurt described the "Hydra [https://mydarkmarket.com darknet market]" platform as the world's biggest illegal [https://mydarkmarket.com darknet market] marketplace.<br><br>They said they seized its server infrastructure in Germany.<br> <br>The shutdown was the result of investigations underway since August, in which U.S. authorities participated.<br> <br>The U.S. Treasury Department also announced Tuesday it was sanctioning Hydra as well as a virtual currency exchange,  dark web [https://mydarkmarket.com darknet market] links Garantex, that operates out of Russia.<br><br>The department said both entities have been used to help finance the activities of ransomware gangs.<br> <br>The Hydra platform had been active at least since 2015, German prosecutors said. They added that, as well as illegal drugs, forged documents,  [https://mydarkmarket.com darknet market] lists intercepted data and "digital services" were offered for sale.<br>They said that it had about 17 million registered customer accounts and more than 19,000 registered sellers.<br> <br>Prosecutors said the platform had sales of at least 1.23 billion euros in 2020.<br> <br>Cybercrime research firm Elliptic said Hydra has facilitated over $5 billion in bitcoin transactions since 2015, receiving a boost after the closure of a key competitor in 2017.<br> <br>"Listings on the site also included forged documents, data (such as credit card information) and digital services," Elliptic said.<br><br>"Products were advertised for sale in a number of countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan."<br>