The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA) announced the shutdown of Crimenetwork, the largest German-language platform for trading illegal goods and services.
The platform was used for the sale of stolen data, drugs and counterfeit documents.
As part of the investigation, BKA officers arrested a 29-year-old administrator of the platform, who according to authorities, had been running it for many years. The arrest took place two days ago, and the man was brought to court, where he was remanded in custody.
Crimenetwork had been operating since 2012 and was one of the key platforms of the shadow economy in the German-speaking segment of the internet. At the time of its closure, the online service had over 100,000 registered users and more than 100 vendors, mostly from German-speaking countries.
Law enforcement also shut down the servers supporting the platform. BKA representatives emphasized that the dismantling of this site is a significant step in the fight against illegal online activity.
