Suspected operators and users arrested
Recently, internationally coordinated searches took place against suspected operators and users of underground economy forums.
In a complex of investigations conducted by the General Prosecutor's Office in Frankfurt am Main - Central Office for Combating Internet Crime - and the Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany against the suspected operators and users of various German-language underground economy (UE) forums, police officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office, twelve German states and foreign partner agencies in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Russia, searched a total of 69 homes and company premises in Germany and abroad a few days ago and arrested nine urgent suspects.
The investigations are directed against the suspected operators and users of various German-language UE forums, through which illegal goods such as weapons, narcotics, counterfeit money, fake official IDs and spied-out data (e.g. credit card and online banking data and "hacked" access to various Internet services) were traded. In addition, the range of offers also included criminal services, for example the infection of computers with malware or DDoS attacks, instructions on how to commit crimes ("tutorials") and illegal streaming services.
The suspected main operator of a total of three UE forums is a 27-year-old Bosnian national who, since October 2012, has played the key role of head administrator in the technical management of the UE forums' infrastructure (server, domain management,
anonymization) and the maintenance of the forum operation. In addition, the accused allegedly secured several hundred illegal transactions on the UE forums he operated as a so-called "trustee" by transferring payment to the respective seller after the buyer confirmed receipt of the goods. The accused was arrested on February 24 in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the High Tech Crime Department Republika Srbska and Directorate of Federation Police Federal Crime Investigation Service Organized Crime Department in the presence of officials of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and is currently in pre-trial detention.
On the occasion of the searches, two other suspected administrators of UE forums, a 21-year-old German national from Münsterland and a 29-year-old German national from Lower Saxony, were arrested. In addition to his work as a technical administrator on two UE forums, the 21-year-old suspect is also alleged to have operated an illegal streaming platform since 2012, via which he is alleged to have offered access to paid sports broadcasts and films, among other things.
An arrest warrant has also been issued for the two defendants; they are in pre-trial detention.
In Lower Saxony, a 22-year-old German national was arrested on February 23 on strong suspicion of illicit trafficking of narcotics in UE forums between March 2014 and December 2015. The suspect is alleged to have sold cocaine, cannabis, amphetamines and ecstasy tablets to various buyers. Since October 2015, a 19-year-old Syrian national from Lower Saxony, who is strongly suspected of having manufactured amphetamine himself, is also alleged to have been involved in these narcotics transactions. On the occasion of the search of the apartment of the Syrian suspect and his 28-year-old brother, among other things, 36 kg of amphetamine, 1.5 kg of cocaine, 2 kg of hashish and 2.3 kg of ecstasy were seized. The narcotics have a street value of about a quarter of a million euros. The two Syrian suspects were arrested and are in custody, as is their suspected German accomplice.
In the course of the measures, extensive evidence was seized, in particular numerous PCs and storage media, a firearm and narcotics. In addition, the investigators seized cash and assets in the amount of approximately 150,000 euros as well as two Bitcoin safes.
Furthermore, the BKA succeeded in seizing several servers in France, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Russia on which criminal online marketplaces were operated.
The concerted investigative measures at home and abroad are a significant blow to the German-language underground economy scene and further proof that there is no such thing as complete anonymity on the Internet, not even on the so-called Darknet. They also underscore the importance of international cooperation in the fight against cybercrime. In terms of international coordination, the European judicial authority Eurojust has been instrumental in supporting the investigations.
The findings obtained in the course of the investigations further demonstrate the importance of the newly created criminal offense of data theft (Section 202d of the German Criminal Code) - on the initiative of the state of Hesse - since trading in illegally obtained data on criminal online marketplaces is widespread and a gap in punishability has existed here until now.
Press release Federal Criminal Police Office Germany
