Police forces around the world have seized more than $6.5m (£5m) in cash and virtual currencies, as well as drugs and guns in a co-ordinated raid on dark web marketplaces.
Some 179 people were arrested across Europe and the US, and 500kg (1,102lb) of drugs and 64 guns confiscated.
It ends the "golden age" of these underground marketplaces, Europol said.
"The hidden internet is no longer hidden", said Edvardas Sileris, head of Europol's cyber-crime centre.
The
operation, known as DisrupTor, was a joint effort between the
Department of Justice and Europol. It is believed that the criminals
engaged in tens of thousands of sales of illicit goods and services
across the US and Europe.
Drugs seized including fentanyl, oxycodone, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, ecstasy and MDMA.
Of
those arrested 119 were based in the US, two in Canada, 42 in Germany,
eight in the Netherlands, four in the UK, three in Austria and one in
Sweden.
Police
are getting better at targeting operations on the dark web - a part of
the internet that is accessible only through specialised tools. This
latest raid follows the takedown of the Wall Street market last year,
which was then thought to be the second-largest illegal online market on
the dark web.
Mr
Sileris said: "Law enforcement is most effective when working together,
and today's announcement sends a strong message to criminals selling or
buying illicit goods on the dark web: the hidden internet is no longer
hidden and your anonymous activity is not anonymous."
"With
the spike in opioid-related overdose deaths during the Covid-19
pandemic, we recognise that today's announcement is important and
timely," said FBI director Christopher Wray.
Kacey
Clark, a researcher at dark web monitoring specialist Digital Shadows
said: "This is another further blow to organised cybercrime. The
operation which took down the AlphaBay and Hansa marketplaces three
years ago spooked cyber criminals, since it resulted in many follow up
prosecutions as law enforcement pieced evidence together - often many
months later.
"Wall
Street market emerged from these ashes and was the most significant one
in existence at the time. It would appear that law enforcement has
followed the same pattern and that is why we are seeing arrests today."
Will this truly herald the "end of the golden era of dark web marketplaces"?
In
the short-term there could big impact as not only this operation but
other recent incidents have shaken trust in dark web stores.
Last month another popular marketplace called Empire came to an abrupt close after a suspected 'exit scam'.
It's
thought the administrators made off with members' funds, leaving
customers' wallets empty and vendors needing to rebuild their shops
somewhere else.
Three
other major sites have also been linked to exit scams in the last 12
months - so the police operation comes at a time when many people may
already be questioning their shopping habits.
However,
as we've seen in the past with big takedowns like AlphaBay, the lure of
buying drugs and other illegal items on the internet means there is
always be a market for it.
Other
sites will be trying to boost their security and anonymity and it's
likely more marketplaces will sprout up, potentially offering even more
innovative systems to make it harder for law enforcement to find them.