German police take down large-scale illicit marketplace ‘Crimenetwork’

The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Central Office for Combating Cybercrime (ZIT) have shut down the criminal trading platform ‘Crimenetwork’ and arrested one of the platform’s administrators.

‘Crimenetwork’ was the largest German-speaking online marketplace where criminals could buy illegal services and goods, such as stolen data, drugs and forged documents. The platform has been around since 2012 and is considered the most important central trading places for the underworld for years.

Last Monday, the marketplace was taken offline by German police officers. Furthermore, a 29 year old man was arrested, also known as ‘Techmin’. He’s being suspected of operating the criminal trading platform for years. Police officers searched his house and found extensive evidence, luxurious vehicles, and around one million euros in cryptocurrency.

According to the Bundeskriminalamt, the German Federal Criminal Police Office, Crimenetwork had over 100 sellers and more than 100,000 users. Trades in illegal goods were made using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero.

Between 2018 and 2024, the marketplace generated a turnover of at least 1,000 Bitcoin (approximately €90 million) and 20,000 Monero (approximately €3 million). ‘Crimenetwork’ received a 5% cut from those transactions.

In addition, sellers had to pay monthly compensation for licensing fees and advertisement for their goods and services.

The investigation was led by the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) and Zentralstelle zur Bekämpfung der Internetkriminalität (ZIT), the Central Office for Combating Cybercrime. The German police got help from the Zeeland-West-Brabant police force and the public prosecutor from the Netherlands.

Earlier this week, law enforcement agencies from France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Spain took down an encrypted messaging service called MATRIX.

The Dutch National Police intercepted and studied over 2.3 million messages in 33 different languages. The contents of these messages provided a deep insight into the world of international drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and money laundering.

Police officers from across Europe arrested three suspects, searched numerous houses, and seized €145,000 in cash, half a million in cryptocurrencies, four high-end vehicles, and over 970 phones.