GERMAN police dismantled a resurrected Crimenetwork marketplace weeks after the original takedown, with the revived site attracting more than 22,000 users and over 100 sellers. According to German authorities, the marketplace was used to trade stolen personal data, drugs, forged documents and other criminal offerings, with payments made through Bitcoin, Litecoin and Monero. Investigators say the platform generated more than €3.6 million in revenue before it was shut down.
Crimenetwork had originally been dismantled in December 2024, and since 2012 it facilitated the sale of drugs, forged documents, hacking tools and stolen data. In late 2024, police arrested a 29-year-old alleged admin, seized €1 million in assets and charged him with enabling sales of drugs, stolen data and illegal services; he is not in custody.
The latest operation also saw a 35-year-old German administrator detained in Mallorca by Spanish authorities, with around €194,000 in assets seized and extensive user and transaction records seized for analysis.