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Straits Times
5 days ago
- Straits Times
Dark web drug market busted by European and U.S. authorities
FILE PHOTO: General view of the Europol building in The Hague, Netherlands December 12, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier/ File Photo BRUSSELS - Police across Europe have dismantled a dark web drug marketplace known as 'Archetyp Market', the pan-European Europol police body said on Monday, which added that U.S. authorities had also assisted them in the operation. Europol said police operations took place last week across Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden to dismantle the dark web Archetyp Market. It added that the platform's infrastructure in the Netherlands was taken offline and that a 30-year-old German who was the administrator had been arrested in Barcelona. Europol said Archetyp had been one of the few darknet markets that allowed the sale of fentanyl and other highly potent synthetic opioids. "With this takedown, law enforcement has taken out one of the dark web's longest-running drug markets, cutting off a major supply line for some of the world's most dangerous substances," said Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, deputy executive director of operations at Europol. "By dismantling its infrastructure and arresting its key players, we are sending a clear message: there is no safe haven for those who profit from harm," added Lecouffe. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
5 days ago
- The Star
Dark web drug market busted by European and U.S. authorities
FILE PHOTO: General view of the Europol building in The Hague, Netherlands December 12, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier/ File Photo BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Police across Europe have dismantled a dark web drug marketplace known as 'Archetyp Market', the pan-European Europol police body said on Monday, which added that U.S. authorities had also assisted them in the operation. Europol said police operations took place last week across Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden to dismantle the dark web Archetyp Market. It added that the platform's infrastructure in the Netherlands was taken offline and that a 30-year-old German who was the administrator had been arrested in Barcelona. Europol said Archetyp had been one of the few darknet markets that allowed the sale of fentanyl and other highly potent synthetic opioids. "With this takedown, law enforcement has taken out one of the dark web's longest-running drug markets, cutting off a major supply line for some of the world's most dangerous substances," said Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, deputy executive director of operations at Europol. "By dismantling its infrastructure and arresting its key players, we are sending a clear message: there is no safe haven for those who profit from harm," added Lecouffe. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Editing by Louise Heavens)
The Star
23-05-2025
- The Star
EU, US authorities take down malware network
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, Eurojust, is pictured on its headquarters ahead of a news conference on alleged war crimes, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in The Hague, Netherlands May 31, 2022. REUTERS/Eva Plevier/File Photo PARIS (Reuters) -European, American and Canadian authorities have taken down over 300 servers worldwide and issued international arrest warrants against 20 suspects in a crackdown on malware, EU agency for criminal justice cooperation Eurojust said in a statement, the latest phase in Operation Endgame. BY THE NUMBERS German, French, Dutch, Danish, British, American and Canadian authorities joined forces this week against the world's most dangerous malware variants and the perpetrators behind them. More than three dozen suspects were identified and 20 individuals criminally charged. Over 300 servers worldwide were taken down, 650 domains were neutralised and 3.5 million euros in cryptocurrency were seized. The actions follow efforts in May 2024, which had been the largest-ever operation against botnets. In total, 21.2 million euros have been seized during the an operation started in 2024. CONTEXT The malware taken down this week is known as "initial access malware." It is used for initial infection, helping cybercriminals to enter victims' systems unnoticed and load more malware onto their devices, such as ransomware. WHAT'S NEXT Operation Endgame will continue with follow-up actions announced on the dedicated website from the international coalition. Several key suspects behind the malware operations are subject to international and public appeals. The German authorities will include eighteen of them on the EU Most Wanted list on Friday. (Reporting by GV De Clercq)
Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Straits Times
EU, US authorities take down malware network
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the EU Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, Eurojust, is pictured on its headquarters ahead of a news conference on alleged war crimes, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in The Hague, Netherlands May 31, 2022. REUTERS/Eva Plevier/File Photo PARIS - European, American and Canadian authorities have taken down over 300 servers worldwide and issued international arrest warrants against 20 suspects in a crackdown on malware, EU agency for criminal justice cooperation Eurojust said in a statement, the latest phase in Operation Endgame. BY THE NUMBERS German, French, Dutch, Danish, British, American and Canadian authorities joined forces this week against the world's most dangerous malware variants and the perpetrators behind them. More than three dozen suspects were identified and 20 individuals criminally charged. Over 300 servers worldwide were taken down, 650 domains were neutralised and 3.5 million euros in cryptocurrency were seized. The actions follow efforts in May 2024, which had been the largest-ever operation against botnets. In total, 21.2 million euros have been seized during the an operation started in 2024. CONTEXT The malware taken down this week is known as "initial access malware." It is used for initial infection, helping cybercriminals to enter victims' systems unnoticed and load more malware onto their devices, such as ransomware. WHAT'S NEXT Operation Endgame will continue with follow-up actions announced on the dedicated website from the international coalition. Several key suspects behind the malware operations are subject to international and public appeals. The German authorities will include eighteen of them on the EU Most Wanted list on Friday. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Egypt Independent
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Egypt Independent
Sudan launches case against United Arab Emirates at World Court
REUTERS — Sudan has filed a case against the United Arab Emirates at the World Court for allegedly violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention by arming the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the International Court of Justice said on Thursday. The United Arab Emirates said it would seek immediate dismissal of the case, which it said lacked 'any legal or factual basis,' a UAE official said in a statement to Reuters. The charges are in connection with intense ethnic-based attacks by the RSF and allied Arab militias against the non-Arab Masalit tribe in 2023 in West Darfur, documented in detail by Reuters. Those attacks were determined to be genocide by the United States in January. The Sudanese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters has seen a copy of the government's application. Sudanese officials have frequently accused the UAE of supporting the RSF, the government's rivals in an almost two-year-old civil war, charges the UAE denies but U.N. experts and U.S. lawmakers have found credible. At the ICJ, Sudan alleges the RSF committed 'genocide, murder, theft of property, rape, forcible displacement, trespassing, vandalism of public properties, and violation of human rights,' according to a statement by the ICJ, also known as the World Court. 'According to Sudan, all such acts have been 'perpetrated and enabled by the direct support given to the rebel RSF militia and related militia groups by the United Arab Emirates,'' it said. This 2019 photo shows a general view of the International Court of Justice ahead of hearings regarding accusations of genocide of Rohingya Muslim minority by Myanmar filed by Gambia, in The Hague, Netherlands. Eva Plevier/Reuters/File The UAE official said: 'The UAE is aware of the recent application by the Sudanese Armed Force's representative to the International Court of Justice, which is nothing more than a cynical publicity stunt aimed at diverting attention from the established complicity of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the widespread atrocities that continue to devastate Sudan and its people.' The UAE maintains that it is committed to addressing the humanitarian crisis and has 'consistently called for an immediate ceasefire' in Sudan, in a statement. The war between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which erupted after a power struggle over integrating the forces in April 2023, has devastated the country, spreading hunger and disease while risking its fragmentation, and has drawn in several foreign powers. It has sparked ethnic attacks in multiple areas, but the bloodiest were in West Darfur, where survivors told Reuters that Masalit boys were targeted for killing while young women were targeted for rapes over waves of attacks soon after the war began. The ICJ is the U.N.'s highest court that deals with disputes between states and violations of international treaties. Sudan and the UAE are both signatories of the 1948 Genocide Convention. Sudan is asking the court to impose emergency measures and to order the Emirates to prevent such genocidal acts. While a hearing on the emergency measures should come before the ICJ within weeks, it will take years before the court will issue a final ruling which could determine if a genocide had been committed in Darfur. The RSF and allied political groups are in the process of setting up a parallel government to the army-aligned one which has taken Port Sudan on the Red Sea, a move rejected by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Reporting by Reuters' Maha El Dahan, Stephanie van den Berg, Khalid Abdelaziz, and Bart Meijer; writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Toby Chopra, William Maclean
