[Bohemia & Cannabia Arrests]

In this blog series we spotlight one of the stories from our cybersecurity newsletter, Beacon.

The alleged administrators of the notorious Bohemia and Cannabia dark web markets have been arrested after reportedly shutting down their dark web sites and attempting to escape with their profits.

The arrests follow an investigation launched in 2022, during which Dutch Police traced servers associated with the marketplaces in the Netherlands. Authorities claim the sites were involved in the sale of illegal goods, including drugs and DDoS tools, and described them as “the largest and longest-running internal dark web market of all time worldwide.”

Investigators estimate the marketplaces processed approximately 67,000 transactions each month, with a record turnover of €12 million in September 2023. The administrators are believed to have earned around €5 million before performing an exit scam.

The operators reportedly became aware of the police investigation, which disrupted their activities, and in 2023 allegedly shut down the marketplaces and disappeared with the funds.

Despite the exit scam, investigators from the Netherlands, Ireland, the UK, and the U.S. continued their efforts, resulting in the arrest of two suspected administrators. One was apprehended in the Netherlands and appeared in court in Rotterdam on Thursday, while the other was arrested in Ireland. Law enforcement still pursuing the administrators of the markets despite them performing an exit scam, should be a warning to cybercriminals that even if they have retired, they’re still at risk from law enforcement action.

“Administrators, sellers, and buyers on illegal marketplaces often think they are beyond the reach of law enforcement,” said Stan Duijf, head of the National Investigation and Intervention Unit. “Through criminal investigations and prosecutions, it’s becoming clear that the dark web is far less anonymous than many believe. Thanks to international cooperation, the credibility of these markets has once again been severely undermined.”