Trial in Frankfurt: Operator of "Archetyp Market" in Court
The suspected founder of the darknet drug platform "Archetyp Market" faces trial at Frankfurt Regional Court from Monday. The platform is said to have generated approximately 330 million euros in turnover.
Darknet drug marketplace: trial against suspected operator begins in Frankfurt
According to it-daily.net, proceedings against the suspected founder and administrator of the darknet platform "Archetyp Market" began on Monday at Frankfurt Regional Court. The 31-year-old was indicted in August.
The platform was considered the world's largest drug and pharmaceutical trading marketplace at the time of its shutdown in mid-2024, including cocaine, fentanyl and heroin. A special unit of the Spanish National Police arrested the defendant in Barcelona in June 2025.
Simultaneously, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) conducted searches domestically and abroad and made further arrests. According to the investigation, the server infrastructure was located in the Netherlands.
Investigators have estimated the platform's total turnover at approximately 330 million euros. There were said to be more than 600,000 customer accounts from around the world and 2.3 million orders. The defendant himself is said to have generated revenue of approximately 20 million euros.
Frankfurt Regional Court is hearing the trial because the Central Office for Combating Internet Crime (ZIT) of the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor's Office has led the investigation. The defendant is said to have operated the platform together with several moderators.
Source: Google News CH — Crime (de)