Major dark web marketplaces shut down by US government

US security officials claimed a major victory on Thursday as two of the so-called dark web’s largest marketplaces were shut down.

AlphaBay and Hansa had become widely known as two of the largest hosts of markets including illicit material such as drugs and weapons.

The shutdown came as part of an international law enforcement operation between intelligence officials in the US and Europe, with attorney general Jeff Sessions lauding the successful operation.

There were as many as 250,000 listings for the sale of illegal drugs and chemicals on AlphaBay alone according to Europol.

The site went offline at the beginning July with little explanation, leading many to believe that admins had made off with millions-worth of bitcoin deposited in its system.

"The dark net is not a place to hide," Sessions told media in Washington. "This is likely one of the most important criminal investigations of the year – taking down the largest dark net marketplace in history."

There were as many as 250,000 listings for the sale of illegal drugs and chemicals on AlphaBay

The online bazaars were successors of the infamous Silk Road, which was one of the original dark web sites which sold everything from narcotics to malware. The dark web itself is an anonymous ecosystem of servers and sites which cannot be found by conventional search engines.

Sessions added that US security groups had attributed a number of drug-related deaths to substances sold via the sites.

"We know of several Americans who were killed by drugs on AlphaBay," he said.

"One victim was just 18 years old when in February she overdosed on a powerful synthetic opioid which she had bought on AlphaBay."