Gigantic Darknet raid: Four arrests in Austria!

Gigantic Darknet raid: Four arrests in Austria!

Vienna, Österreich - On May 22, 2025, there were significant developments in the international fight against cybercrime and illegal trade in the Darknet. Europol coordinated the Operation Raptor, in which a total of 270 suspects were arrested in ten countries on four continents. This raid aims in particular on sellers and buyers of illegal goods in the Darknet, including drugs, weapons and fake products. In Austria, four suspects were arrested, based on information that was collected as part of the destruction of the Darknet marketplaces Nemesis, Tor2door, Bohemia and Kingdom Markets.

global effects and focus on drug trafficking

Operation Raptor is part of a comprehensive commitment to combat the spread of fentanyl and other opioids. Most arrests took place in the USA (130), followed by Germany (42), Great Britain (37), France (29) and South Korea (19). These figures make it clear that the US and Europe is the focus of the investigation. However, the structures in the Darknet have changed, because the criminal actors are increasingly moving to smaller businesses with only one provider, which makes it difficult to uncover and persecution.

The raid followed on Operation Spector, in which 288 suspects were arrested in 2023. Further arrests in this context also took place in the Netherlands (4), Brazil (3), Switzerland (1) and Spain (1). These comprehensive measures illustrate the engagement of international law enforcement authorities to combat cybercrime and illegal activities in the Darknet, as [ICE] reports.

Operation Talent and cybercrime

Another aspect of international efforts to cybercrime is the Operation Talent, which was already carried out in January 2025, in which the General Prosecutor's Office Frankfurt am Main and the Federal Criminal Police Office together with Europol against illegal trading platforms such as "Nulled.to" and "Cracked.io". These platforms that offered criminal services included around 5 million registered users and generated over 1 million euros annually.

While Operation talented in seven searches in ten countries, the investigation showed that the services offered ranged from DDOS attacks to malware and hacking tools. This measures, supported by the data of around 10 million users, serve as the basis for further investigations. The successes of the BKA and ZIT in the fight against cybercrime are already evident. These include the closure of the Darknet marketplace Hydra Market and the confiscated cryptocurrencies.

The current developments show that the law enforcement authorities are determined worldwide to act against crime in the Darknet and to increase security in the digital world.