In a press briefing at the Department of Justice today, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and other law enforcement officials announced an international enforcement operation targeting the darknet’s largest marketplaces: AlphaBay and Hansa Market. Sessions said President Donald Trump had directed the Department of Justice to prioritize dismantling international cybercrime organizations such as AlphaBay.
“[Trump] gave us several directives,” Sessions said. “One is to dismantle internet transnational criminal organizations. That is what we are announcing today. Dismantling of the largest dark website in the world by far.”
Multiple U.S. agencies coordinated with law enforcement partners in Thailand, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Canada, the United Kingdom, and France to carry out the AlphaBay takedown.
“The Deadliest Drug Epidemic in Our History”
In his opening remarks, Sessions emphasized the opioid addiction crisis in the United States.
“Among other challenges, our great country is currently in the midst of the deadliest drug epidemic in our history,” Sessions said.
He stated that an American dies from a drug overdose roughly every eleven minutes and that two million Americans are addicted to prescription drugs.
“We know of several Americans who were killed by drugs on AlphaBay,” Sessions added, recounting cases in which an eighteen-year-old girl and a thirteen-year-old boy died after using synthetic opioids allegedly purchased from AlphaBay vendors.
The Largest Darknet Market Takedown in History
Sessions described how many prolific drug suppliers use the dark web, where AlphaBay operated before the global law enforcement action.
He characterized the operation as the largest darknet market takedown in history. Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe noted that AlphaBay was approximately ten times larger than the original Silk Road marketplace that was shut down in 2013.
Sessions shared data that AlphaBay hosted roughly 40,000 vendors, 200,000 customers, and 250,000 listings. Of the vendors, authorities said 122 offered fentanyl and 238 offered heroin.
“By far, most of this activity [on AlphaBay] was in illegal drugs, pouring fuel on the fire of a national drug epidemic,” Sessions said.
Law Enforcement Acknowledges the Work Is Ongoing
Officials at the briefing stressed that this operation does not mark the end of darknet enforcement efforts.
“Critics will say as we shudder one [darknet market], another will emerge,” McCabe said. “And they may be right. But that is the nature of criminal work. It never goes away. You have to constantly keep at it, and you have to use every tool in your toolbox.”
DEA Acting Deputy Administrator Robert Patterson added, “We are keenly aware there will be another AlphaBay.”
Law enforcement representatives also said lessons learned from past investigations have improved their ability to disrupt and prevent darknet market activity.
“I believe that because of this operation, the American people are safer,” Sessions said. “People around the world are safer.”