Operation Deep Sentinel is the latest international law enforcement operation targeting cybercrime. It resulted in the shutdown of Archetyp, one of the largest darknet markets.
Launched in 2020, Archetyp became Europe’s longest running darknet market for illegal drugs until its takedown last week. Authorities have now confirmed several key arrests connected to the market.
Archetyp went offline late last week under the pretext of maintenance, which led some users to worry that the admin might be carrying out an exit scam. This would involve taking off with all vendor and user balances.
At the time of its shutdown, Archetyp had over 600,000 users and a total transaction volume of at least €250 million ($289 million). Authorities seized €7.8 million ($9 million) from the largest vendor alone.
The market had more than 17,000 listings from around 3,200 vendors and was one of the few darknet platforms that allowed the sale of fentanyl. Archetyp’s scale and influence made it comparable to other major darknet markets such as Silk Road and Dream Market.
The alleged admin a 30 year old German national whose identity has not been released, was arrested at his apartment in Barcelona. Officials also took action in Germany and Sweden, arresting one moderator and six of Archetyp’s top vendors.
The suspected admin is reported to own properties in Hanover and Bucharest. These properties were also searched by law enforcement as part of the investigation.
Operation Deep Sentinel was led by Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). The BKA also released a video showing a cartoon-like depiction of how the takedown unfolded. This has become a typical approach following similar operations like Endgame and Magnus.
Over the course of three days, more than 300 officers participated in the operation. Many of these officers were involved in raids across Germany and Sweden.
While Europol confirmed the arrest of the German the BKA mentioned that seven people were detained in Sweden. In total, 20 properties were searched, mostly targeting moderators and vendors on Archetyp. Authorities seized 47 smartphones, 45 computers, drugs, and other assets, all of which will be examined for further leads.
In an unusual move following the bust, the Admin's Dread account was taken over by law enforcement and used make a post claiming to be from the arrested admin.
In the post, he stated they had been arrested by Spanish special forces on June 11 as part of Operation Deep Sentinel he claimed that his apartment had been searched and devices seized, giving law enforcement access to the full Archetyp database from the last five years. The message also mentioned the identification and arrest of other moderators and vendors.
The post ended with forced sarcasm, awkwardly referencing login issues and a betting pool called DeadPool on Archetyp's downfall options.
It was clearly an attempt by law enforcement to "speak the language" of the community, but it only showed how out of touch and fake they were. Unsurprisingly, the clumsy tone and unnatural message made it obvious to many that this is a failed attempt at spooking the darknet scene with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.