Heavy blow for criminal online platform ‘Crimemarket’

Police say they have discovered a criminal German-language trading platform on the Internet called ‘Crimemarket’. The attack on the online retailers took place as part of a nationally coordinated action, the police in Düsseldorf announced. Criminal services and detailed instructions about serious crimes or drugs are available on the platform.

In total, almost 100 objects were searched in almost all states, a police spokesman in Düsseldorf said on Thursday evening. According to him, several people have been arrested. He did not provide information on how many people have been arrested.

One federal state was the focus of the attacks

The focus of the raids against cybercriminals was in North Rhine-Westphalia. The police want to announce further details in Düsseldorf on Friday afternoon. The police spokesperson emphasizes that no further information will be provided until then.

The ‘Crimemarket’ would have looked like a platform that is also used for legal online shopping. The researchers did not just focus on the platform operators. Action is also being taken against criminal service providers and their customers.

The access was preceded by intensive investigation led by the cybercrime center and contact point in North Rhine-Westphalia. An investigative committee at the Düsseldorf police station has been collecting evidence of crimes involving the criminal platform for years.

Sources

(t-online/dsc)