Draft:Operation SaboTor

  • Comment: Please rewrite/re-format the History section as prose; and rearrange it to the top, right after the lead section. Also, the sections about the specific markets are too brief, could you expand them a little bit more (provide some more details about how these sites used to operate beforehand and what led the authorities to target them or incorporate some details regarding who - if there's anyone known - were behind those, where they operated the sites from, etc.).
    Moreover, if available, could you add any third party's observations, opinions, remarks, comments, or reception- regarding Operation SaboTor?
    You may ping me after you're done. X (talk) 19:59, 19 April 2024 (UTC)

Operation SaboTor was an operation from January to March 2019[1], coordinated by the Justice Department’s J-CODE team[2] and Europol, which targeted drug buyers and sellers on the darknet on Wall Street Market[3] and Valhalla Market[4] (also known as Silkkitie).[5]

History

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In October of 2013, Valhalla Market opened it's doors, under another name.[6] Around July 2015, they rebranded to their new name, “Valhalla Market.”[6]

On 11 January, 2019, Operation SaboTor began, concluding on 12 March, 2019.[7]

Finally, during May of 2019, Wall Street Market’s Tor website was seized[8], followed by the seizure of Valhalla Market’s Tor website[5]. German police arrested those involved with Wall Street Market, and Finnish police arrested those involved in Valhalla.[4]

Wall Street Market

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Wall Street Market, a target of Operation SaboTor, was one of the most popular markets on the dark web.[9] Wall Street Market specialized in selling illegal products, including drugs (such as cocaine and heroin)[10], and digital items (such as stolen data, malware and documents). It was popularized due to their unique transaction system for payments and products.[9]

Valhalla Market

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Valhalla Market, also known as Silkkitie, was the second target of Operation SaboTor, and was one of the oldest darknet marketplaces.[10] Valhalla Market had over 30,000 products listed.[11]

Results

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Operation SaboTor resulted in 61 arrests[12] and the removal of 50 accounts.[13] The seizure of both markets resulted, additionally, in the seizure of €550,000 in cash, servers, Bitcoin and Monero connected to the markets[14], 51 firearms, and 14 vehicles.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Operation SaboTor". FBI.gov. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  2. ^ "FBI and Partners Target Darknet Opioid Traffickers". FBI.gov. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  3. ^ "End of Monopoly Market". eucrim.eu. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  4. ^ a b Robertson, Adi (2019-05-03). "Police just took down a massive dark web marketplace in Germany". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  5. ^ a b "Authorities Take Down World's Largest Illegal Dark Web Marketplace". The Hacker News. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  6. ^ a b "DDW Indictment". FBI.gov. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  7. ^ "J-CODE Announces 61 Arrests in its Second Coordinated Law Enforcement Operation Targeting Opioid Trafficking on the Darknet". FBI.gov. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  8. ^ "International law enforcement operation targeting opioid traffickers on the Darknet results in over 170 arrests worldwide and the seizure of weapons, drugs and over $6.5 million". DEA.gov. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  9. ^ a b "The Dark Web: the Ultimate Guide". Rapid7. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  10. ^ a b "Double blow to dark web marketplaces". Europol. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  11. ^ "Dark Web's Wall Street Market & Valhalla Seized, Six Arrested". BleepingComputer. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  12. ^ "FBI task force cracks down on online opioid trafficking; announces 61 arrests in second coordinated Dark Web effort". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  13. ^ "Not as Dark as You Think: Darkweb Drug Sting Seizes $4.5 in Crypto". CNN. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Going dark: Wall Street Market taken offline in coordinated police operation". The Daily Swig | Cybersecurity news and views. 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  15. ^ Canada, Public Safety (2021-07-15). "Fall 2019 Law Enforcement Roundtable on Illicit Drugs". www.publicsafety.gc.ca. Retrieved 2024-04-09.