Its sister site, Cannabia, was entirely dedicated to cannabis listings, further cementing its appeal to users seeking illegal drugs. In addition to drugs, Bohemia also offered a range of cybercrime services, including malware distribution and counterfeit items such as forged identification cards and banknotes. The Bohemia Market is an online black market operating on the anonymous Tor network. It was launched in 2017 as one of the first dark web marketplaces after Silk Road 2.0 went offline in 2014.
Darknet Market Onion Links
However, by the end of 2023, Bohemia and Cannabia began experiencing major disruptions. Users reported service outages and problems accessing their accounts, fueling concerns of an “exit scam,” a common tactic used by dark web market operators to steal funds before abruptly shutting down their platforms. These fears were confirmed when one of Bohemia’s lead developers allegedly went rogue, siphoning off small amounts of Bitcoin over a period of several months. The market’s administrators described this event as “a shameful and disgruntled set of actions,” blaming the developer for contributing to the site’s eventual downfall.
As with any other marketplace, customers of Bohemia Market can use the standard escrow service to buy and sell items on the darknet. This means that customers can buy a single item from multiple locations with the help of an intelligent shopping cart system designed to make things easy. The disruption started when one of Bohemia’s developers allegedly went rogue, causing service disruptions and an exit scam.
More Forums
The administrators claim that they invested two years in developing the market before its launch in June 2021. Notably, Bohemia offers an exceptionally affordable vendor bond priced at $200, which is a common strategy employed by emerging markets seeking to establish themselves. Additionally, Bohemia waives vendor bonds for reputable vendors with established track records.
Darknet Market Arrests
Xennt, who had a lifelong fascination with underground fortresses, lived in the bunker. Inside the bunker, Xennt’s team installed servers that hosted dark-Web sites trading illicit products and images, including terrorist material and images of child abuse. This is a well-kept secret, as it is with the majority of dark web marketplaces. He allegedly had a lot of data and bitcoin in his possession, but more than 8 million euros in virtual currency was seized during the arrest of the suspects. Bohemia, often referred to as one of the longest-running dark web markets, served around 82,000 ads globally every day. The platform facilitated roughly 67,000 transactions per month, and in September 2023 alone, its turnover was estimated at a staggering €12 million (approx ₹99.6 crore).
UK Office
The site is mainly used by criminals selling illegal drugs, stolen data, fake IDs and counterfeit money. However, it also offers legitimate products such as hardware, software licenses, gift cards and electronics at discounted prices compared to legal vendors. The Dutch police have announced the success of a new joint law enforcement operation that led to the shutdown of the dual dark web marketplace Bohemia/Cannabia. These are two of the largest and longest-running dark web platforms for the trade of illegal goods, drugs, and cybercrime services. Bohemia Market is a darknet marketplace that uses a conventional escrow system and accepts BTC and XMR. It offers an intelligent cart system for buyers and exclusive features for vendors, such as mass messaging and direct listing promotions.
FBI, Dutch Cops Seize Fake ID Marketplace That Sold Identity Docs For $9
When the admins “exit scammed” and split the money members had deposited to the platform, the police traced the amounts and identified the administrators. A second administrator of Bohemia/Cannabia was arrested in Ireland in the context of the same operation, which leveraged data from the joint international investigation. Nemesis was rare among escrow markets for not having drugs as the top product category. Instead, the most common listing classifications are guides, tutorials, and carding. In September 2023 the Tor2Door site – at the time one of the biggest and longest standing marketplaces – closed. In November 2023 one of the Bohemia administrators posted on the dark web forum Dread to explain this disruption, claiming it was due to the actions of a rogue developer.
- Set up in 2021, the markets primarily sold drugs, with an emphasis on cannabis products, but also offered “a small number of advertisements for exploits and malware,” according to the dark web intelligence firm Searchlight Cyber.
- One suspect was apprehended in the Netherlands, while the other was arrested in Ireland.
- The site is mainly used by criminals selling illegal drugs, stolen data, fake IDs and counterfeit money.
- On November 20, one of the Bohemia administrators posted on the dark web forum Dread to explain this disruption that has been impacting the market, using their PGP key to verify their identity.
- All other categories have fewer listings, including psychedelics, ecstasy and stimulants.
- When the admins “exit scammed” and split the money members had deposited to the platform, the police traced the amounts and identified the administrators.
Caution is advised when using this market, as an exit scam could happen at any time. Dutch police revealed that the investigation into Bohemia and Cannabia spanned from late 2022 to the end of 2023. Following this period, both marketplaces experienced several operational disruptions before ultimately shutting down. Some sellers on Bohemia advertised they were shipping the products from the Netherlands. The initial police investigation revealed 14,000 transactions from the Netherlands took place with a value of at least 1.7 million euros.
Bohemia Market Review
The Dutch authorities have taken down the Bohemia and Cannabia dark web market, which was known for selling all sorts of illegal products, including drugs, DDoS attacks and many other cyber-related items. This development has sent shockwaves through the dark web community, with many users now wary of the security and anonymity of such platforms. The shutdown is a reminder that international law enforcement agencies are increasingly collaborating to tackle the issue of illegal dark web activities. The takedown of Bohemia and Cannabia represents a significant milestone in the ongoing battle against dark web marketplaces. These once-dominant platforms, which facilitated millions of euros worth of illegal transactions, have now been dismantled, sending a clear message to those who believe they can operate in the shadows of the internet. Working closely with their international counterparts, Dutch authorities were able to identify and arrest two individuals suspected of being key administrators of the marketplaces.
Bohemia & Cannabia Dark Web Markets – Closed
The platform is favored by cybercriminals seeking access to accounts that can be exploited for fraud or sold to others. It allows vendors to sell without registration, which provides an added layer of anonymity, making it one of the more flexible and user-friendly markets on the dark web. DarkMarket also advertised itself as being the only such site administered exclusively by women. This was an intriguing boast—a prosecutor told me it was made to gain users’ trust—but it was untrue. DarkMarket’s thirty-four-year-old founder and administrator was apparently an Australian man, who was arrested last weekend near the German-Danish border.
Bohemia Market Links
Obviously, users feel more anxious about using such markets, not to mention escrow services. The development comes as Ukrainian authorities have arrested a 28-year-old man for allegedly operating a virtual private network (VPN) that made it possible for people from within the country to access the Russian internet (aka Runet) in violation of sanctions. The service, which had more than 48 million IP addresses, is believed to have been launched by an unnamed self-taught hacker from the city of Khmelnytskyi in the aftermath of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
QUICK LINKS
On November 19, Bohemia Market’s administrator, Bohemia, posted a lengthy topic on the Dread forum titled “What’s Happened vs What’s Happening” which detailed that their lead developer had stolen users’ bitcoins, leaving a significant hole they need to fill. They promised compensation and the discontinuation of Bitcoin in favor of compensation in Monero. However, users raised extensive questions and doubts under the topic, questioning how long the compensation action would take.
The access, Ukraine’s Cyber Police said, was facilitated by setting up an autonomous server room in his apartment, with additional servers rented in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Russia. “The man advertised his service on his own Telegram channels and thematic communities, as well as on a world-famous IT resource, where he positioned himself as a project developer and found like-minded people,” the agency said. It is possible they are Sklianko Oleksandr Mykolaiovych and Chernykh Mykola Serhiiovyc, who were previously sanctioned by the European Council. However, its listings also included counterfeit items such as identification cards and banknote forgeries, as well as a small number of advertisements for exploits and malware. Bohemia Market was launched in May 2021 as a drug trading platform for cannabis enthusiasts, but over time, its influence expanded into counterfeit documents and currency. After the closures of AlphaBay Market, ASAP Market, and Tor2Door Market, a large influx of users turned to Bohemia Market, making it one of the largest dark web trading platforms.
The police allege that the sites were trafficking in illicit products, including drugs (mainly cannabis) and DDOS tools, and described them as “the largest and oldest international dark web market of all time worldwide”. Operation RapTor resulted in the highest number of seizures of any JCODE operation, including more than $200 million in currency and digital assets, over two metric tons of drugs, 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics, and over 180 firearms. With the recent closure of major marketplaces including AlphaBay, ASAP, and Tor2Door, Bohemia took pole position as one of the longest established dark web markets and attracted an influx of new users. However, very quickly cracks began to show, with notable disruption taking place on the site from early October. At one point the market was inaccessible and its users and vendors started to complain that they could not access their funds and were receiving patchy communication from the site’s administrators. The shutdown of Bohemia and Cannabia comes amid a broader wave of law enforcement action targeting dark web markets.
