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Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: An international law enforcement operation results in the seizure of the largest criminal marketplace on the Darknet.

I’m Mollie Halpern of the Bureau with FBI, This Week.

AlphaBay sold illegal drugs, malware, and other illicit commodities on the Tor network, which conceals users’ identities and locations.

Fentanyl and heroin sold on the site are linked to multiple overdose deaths across the country—including the demise of a 13-year-old boy from Utah.

The AlphaBay shut down coincided with the National Police of the Netherlands’ takeover of the Hansa Market—the third-largest criminal marketplace on the Darknet. 

FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe.

Acting Director Andrew McCabe: Taking down two major Darknet sites at once is considerable, and it took a lot of effort, a lot of expertise, and a lot of teamwork.

Halpern: The FBI and its partners identified AlphaBay’s creator and his wife and seized millions of dollars’ worth of their high-value assets.

Robert Wainwright is the executive director of Europol, which supported both investigations.

Robert Wainwright: There is a very strong message here: To those who engage in criminal activity on the Internet—and the Darknet especially—that you’re not as safe and you’re not as anonymous as you think you are.

Halpern: To learn more, visit fbi.gov.