Utopia (online trading platform)

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Utopia was an e-commerce platform implemented as a hidden service in the Tor network . Utopia is the successor to the Black Market Reloaded (BMR), which closed on December 24, 2003 . It was created and programmed as a darknet market by former sellers of the BMR with the support of the BMR operator, who was known under the pseudonym “Blackopy” . The manufacturing process was unusually transparent and could be followed via the Black Market Reloaded forum, and later via a separate board. Utopia was one of the most anticipated pieces of content on the deep web .

Utopia was only online for a few days until the Dutch authorities closed the marketplace.

methodology

The marketplace only accepted the pseudo-anonymous internet currency Bitcoin . In addition, for the purpose of disguising the origin, a "Bitcoin Mixer" was installed, through which the bitcoins were redistributed and should make it more difficult to determine the origin. As usual, an escrow system was set up to minimize the risk of fraud.

The Tor anonymization network was designed to protect against prosecution by investigative authorities.

Products and reach

The main part of the offer were drugs such as heroin , cannabinoids and MDMA as well as medication . But weapons, explosives and instruction books were also found on the market. One server was in Germany.

Arrest and Seizure

According to the Dutch public prosecutor's office, the investigation began in early 2013. Undercover agents had acquired weapons and drugs, including several thousand ecstasy pills and dozens of grams of cocaine. According to the statement, the investigators were amazed that they had also been offered a deposit for a murder assignment.

The arrest and seizure took place under mysterious circumstances. It was not just the speed at which the operators were arrested and brought to the prosecution that was surprising. Five people were arrested in different countries , including a 21-year-old German from Bad Nauheim , he is accused of commercial computer fraud, membership in a criminal organization and violating the Narcotics Act. Four of the five arrested were Dutch, one of whom was already imprisoned and had to answer for Utopia.

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