14 DAY TRIAL // On Tuesday, we learned that the Dutch National Police had shut down the Tor-based underground marketplace called Utopia. The website had been operational for only one week before being taken down.
According to Dutch publication NOS, a total of five individuals have been arrested. Three of them are suspected of being the owners of the website. Two of the alleged operators are from Enschede (aged 30 and 31), and one from Utrecht (aged 29).
They’re also said to be involved with another underground marketplace shut down by authorities last year, Black Market Reloaded.
The other people detained by police are customers of Utopia and other similar websites. They’ve been arrested in Germany.
Police have searched the suspects’ homes and seized computers, hard drives, USB sticks, and around 900 Bitcoins.
Utopia is said to have facilitated the transaction of drugs and weapons. Investigators contacted sellers and ordered ecstasy pills, cocaine, and several firearms. Dutch authorities say they will make additional details available later this week.