Police dismantle Archetyp dark web drug market, arrest administrator

International law enforcement agencies have shut down one of the longest-running and most prolific drug marketplaces on the dark web, known as Archetyp Market, and arrested its alleged administrator.

The operation, which took place between June 11 and 13, also targeted the platform’s moderators, top vendors and technical infrastructure, with coordinated raids conducted across Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Sweden, according to a statement by Europol.

The suspected operator of the site — a 30-year-old German national — was arrested at his home in Barcelona. Authorities believe the man, who allegedly used the pseudonym ASNT, ran the platform as part of an organized criminal group trafficking large quantities of narcotics. Investigators seized assets worth approximately €7.8 million (about $9 million), including luxury vehicles and cryptocurrency.

Archetyp Market arrived online in 2020 and grew into a significant hub for online drug trafficking. Until this month, it had evaded the law enforcement operations that took down other major dark web marketplaces. Archetyp facilitated the sale of cocaine, MDMA, amphetamines, and highly potent synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.

According to Europol, the platform had more than 600,000 users, over 17,000 product listings, and processed an estimated €250 million ($290 million) in transactions.

“This operation cuts off a major supply line for some of the world’s most dangerous substances,” said Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, Europol’s deputy executive director of operations. “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.”

Investigators said the seizure of Archetyp Market followed years of forensic work to trace financial flows, analyze digital evidence and map the platform’s architecture. A seizure notice now appears on the marketplace’s homepage, along with a Cyberpunk-style warning video dramatizing the police operation.

The action built upon the previous takedowns of dark web marketplaces like Kingdom Markets, Incognito, Nemesis, Bohemia and Tor2Door. In May, a separate international operation led to the arrest of 270 people and the seizure of over $200 million, 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced substances, and 180 firearms.