‘Dark web’ drug sites shut down

TWO of the largest online marketplaces on the so-called ‘dark web’ have been shut down as part of a major international crackdown.

Websites AlphaBay and Hansa allowed people to buy and sell drugs and had more than 200,000 customers worldwide. The sites operated on a network called Tor, which allows users to browse anonymity. US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said yesterday: ‘We know of several Americans who were killed by drugs on AlphaBay.’ He added that a 13-year-old boy died after overdosing on a drug purchased through the site.

The crackdown marked one of the largest law enforcement actions ever taken against dark web criminals, striking a substantial blow to the online drugs trade.