The Hunt for the King of the Dark Web

Summary

The script recounts the downfall of AlphaBay, once the largest darknet market, through the operation 'Bayonet'. It details the rise of dark web marketplaces, the secretive life of AlphaBay's creator, 'Alpha02', and the global manhunt leading to his arrest and subsequent suicide. The narrative highlights the cat-and-mouse game between authorities and cybercriminals, emphasizing the ongoing battle despite the takedown of major platforms.

Takeaways

• 💻 On July 5th, 2017, the dark web marketplace kingpin known as Alpha02 was arrested in Bangkok, Thailand, after a global manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies.
• 🔒 Alpha02, whose real name was Alexandre Cazes, lived a luxurious life funded by the profits of the AlphaBay marketplace, which he operated anonymously.
• 🚓 The arrest operation involved a staged car accident to lure Cazes out of his house, allowing authorities to access his devices and the AlphaBay servers.
• 🌐 AlphaBay was a notorious dark web marketplace that offered a wide range of illegal goods and services, including drugs, weapons, and stolen data.
• 💡 The dark web has been a hub for criminal activities due to its promise of anonymity and privacy, facilitated by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
• 🛑 After the shutdown of the original Silk Road, numerous other darknet markets emerged, including Silk Road 2.0, Evolution, and Agora, each vying for dominance.
• 🔮 AlphaBay's rise to prominence was swift, offering user-friendly features and a variety of illicit goods, making it the largest darknet market at the time.
• 🔑 A critical breakthrough in identifying Alpha02 came from an anonymous tipster who provided an early AlphaBay welcome email containing Cazes's real email address.
• 🔍 Through meticulous investigation, authorities were able to trace Cazes's online presence and real-world identity, eventually locating him in Thailand.
• 💔 Tragically, Cazes committed suicide in custody on July 12, 2017, ending the reign of the 'King of the Dark Web'.
• 🔄 Despite the takedown of AlphaBay and other darknet markets, the demand for illegal goods persists, leading to the emergence of new marketplaces and the continuation of the cat-and-mouse game between criminals and law enforcement.

Q & A

What event marked the beginning of the operation to capture Alpha02?

The operation to capture Alpha02, known as Operation Bayonet, began when the FBI and DEA investigators had been waiting for the right moment to apprehend him, which was finally initiated on July 5th, 2017, when a woman, an agent of the Royal Thai Police force, intentionally crashed her Toyota Camry into Alpha02's front gate.

What was the significance of the Silk Road in the context of the dark web?

The Silk Road was a legendary dark web marketplace that went live in February 2011 and became incredibly popular for illegal activities such as drug sales. It set a precedent for the darknet markets and was a catalyst for the subsequent rise of similar platforms after its shutdown.

What was the business model of AlphaBay that allowed it to dominate the dark web?

AlphaBay's business model involved offering a wide range of illicit products and services, including drugs, weapons, and malware, while also providing a user-friendly platform similar to Amazon. It allowed users to pay with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Monero, or Ethereum for anonymity and even offered a tumbler to blur transactions.

How did Alpha02 become a multimillionaire through AlphaBay?

Alpha02 became a multimillionaire by charging a commission of 2 to 4% on every transaction made on the AlphaBay platform, which had over 300,000 items listed and over half a million dollars in daily sales by 2017.

What was the role of 'DeSnake' in AlphaBay's operations?

'DeSnake' was a representative of Alpha02 and played a crucial role in AlphaBay's operations by handling communications after Alpha02 retired from day-to-day operations.

What was the turning point for investigators in identifying Alpha02?

The turning point for investigators was the discovery of an email address in the metadata of a welcome email sent to early registrants of AlphaBay. This email address, [email protected], led them to Alexandre Cazes, the man behind Alpha02.

How did the investigators track down Alpha02's location?

Investigators tracked down Alpha02's location by following clues from his email address, which led them to his social media profiles, PayPal account, LinkedIn profile, and eventually to Bangkok, Thailand, where he lived a luxurious lifestyle.

What was the strategy behind the coordinated shutdown of AlphaBay and Hansa Market?

The strategy was to first take control of the Hansa Market servers without the dark web's knowledge, then shut down AlphaBay, forcing its users to migrate to Hansa, which was under law enforcement control. This created a honeypot to collect incriminating evidence against thousands of criminals.

What happened to Alpha02 after his arrest?

After his arrest, Alpha02, whose real name was Alexandre Cazes, committed suicide while in custody on July 12, 2017.

How did the dark web community react to the shutdown of AlphaBay and Hansa Market?

Following the shutdown of AlphaBay and Hansa Market, the dark web community was initially confused, speculating about the reasons behind the platforms being offline. However, users quickly migrated to other existing platforms, and new darknet markets emerged to fill the void.

What is the current status of the dark web marketplaces mentioned in the script?

As of the script's information, the Hansa Market and AlphaBay have been shut down, with AlphaBay being relaunched by 'DeSnake' in 2021 and still operational. Meanwhile, the Russian Darknet market Hydra, which was larger than AlphaBay at one point, was shut down in 2021.

Outlines

00:00

🕵️‍♂️ The Fall of AlphaBay's Alpha02

This paragraph details the dramatic capture of Alpha02, the pseudonymous founder of AlphaBay, a notorious dark web marketplace. On July 5, 2017, a meticulously planned operation led by the Royal Thai Police, DEA, and FBI resulted in his arrest. The operation began with a staged car accident to lure Alpha02 out of his Bangkok villa. Upon his capture, authorities seized his devices, which were unlocked, providing them with access to AlphaBay's servers. The founder, later identified as Alexandre Cazes, was found to have amassed a fortune through the illicit marketplace. Tragically, Cazes took his own life while in custody, marking the end of an era for the dark web's most infamous figures.

05:01

🔎 Unmasking the Mastermind Behind AlphaBay

The second paragraph delves into the investigative efforts to unmask Alpha02's true identity. American investigators embarked on a global hunt, which eventually led to a breakthrough when an anonymous tipster provided an email address linked to Alpha02. This clue unraveled a digital trail that connected to Alexandre Cazes, a Canadian software designer living in Thailand. Investigators pieced together his life through various online profiles, social media, and business ventures, ultimately pinpointing his luxurious lifestyle and multiple properties in Thailand.

10:02

🚓 Operation Bayonet: The Takedown of Two Darknet Titans

This paragraph outlines the coordinated international operation known as 'Operation Bayonet,' which aimed to dismantle both AlphaBay and the Hansa Market, two major darknet marketplaces. The operation involved a strategic delay in taking down AlphaBay to allow users to migrate to Hansa, which had been secretly taken over by Dutch authorities. This move transformed Hansa into a honeypot, enabling the collection of incriminating evidence against thousands of criminals. The operation culminated in the arrest of Hansa's operators and the shutdown of both marketplaces, marking a significant victory for law enforcement.

15:03

🌐 The Dark Web's Ongoing Game of Cat and Mouse

The final paragraph reflects on the broader implications of the takedown of AlphaBay and Hansa, emphasizing that the dark web is not inherently evil but is exploited by criminals. It highlights the importance of maintaining spaces for whistleblowers and journalists to operate safely. The narrative acknowledges the ongoing battle against darknet marketplaces, as new platforms quickly emerge to fill the void left by those shut down. The paragraph concludes with the resurgence of AlphaBay under a new operator, 'DeSnake,' illustrating the persistent and adaptive nature of the dark web's illicit activities.

Keywords

💡Dark Web

The Dark Web refers to a part of the internet that is not indexed by traditional search engines and requires special software, such as Tor, to access. It is often associated with anonymity and is notorious for hosting illegal activities. In the video, the Dark Web is the central theme, as it discusses the story of AlphaBay, a darknet marketplace for illicit goods and services.

💡AlphaBay

AlphaBay was one of the largest darknet markets on the Dark Web, known for its wide range of illegal goods, including drugs, weapons, and stolen data. The platform's user-friendly interface and anonymity features made it a popular choice for criminals. The video script details the rise and fall of AlphaBay, including the arrest of its alleged operator, Alpha02.

💡Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that operates independently of a central bank. It is often used on the Dark Web for transactions due to its pseudo-anonymous nature. In the script, Bitcoin is mentioned as the primary form of payment on darknet marketplaces like AlphaBay.

💡Anonymity

Anonymity in the context of the video refers to the ability to remain unidentified or concealed, which is a key feature of the Dark Web and services like AlphaBay. It allows users to engage in illicit activities without revealing their identities, as highlighted by the video's discussion of the Dark Web's promises of privacy.

💡Exit Scam

An exit scam in the context of darknet markets is when the operators of a marketplace abruptly shut it down and run away with the users' funds. The script mentions the exit scam as a common occurrence in the darknet ecosystem, with the example of the Evolution marketplace.

💡Law Enforcement

Law enforcement agencies are governmental bodies responsible for enforcing the law and investigating crimes. The video script discusses the global efforts of law enforcement, including the FBI, DEA, and various international agencies, in tracking down and arresting the operators of darknet markets like AlphaBay.

💡Operation Bayonet

Operation Bayonet was a coordinated international law enforcement effort to take down AlphaBay and another darknet market, Hansa. The script details this operation, which involved a multi-agency approach and led to the arrest of AlphaBay's alleged operator and the shutdown of both marketplaces.

💡VPN (Virtual Private Network)

A VPN is a service that allows users to create a secure and encrypted connection over the internet. It can be used to bypass geo-restrictions and enhance privacy. The script includes a mention of NordVPN, which offers features like threat protection and the ability to change virtual locations.

💡Hansa Market

Hansa Market was another prominent darknet market that competed with AlphaBay. The script describes how Dutch authorities took control of the Hansa Market servers, monitored criminal activities, and eventually shut it down as part of Operation Bayonet.

💡Cazes, Alexandre

Alexandre Cazes, also known as Alpha02, was the alleged operator of AlphaBay. The video script recounts how investigators tracked down Cazes, leading to his arrest and subsequent suicide while in custody, marking the end of AlphaBay's reign on the Dark Web.

💡DeSnake

DeSnake is a representative of Alpha02 and played a significant role in the operations of AlphaBay. The script mentions DeSnake as the point of contact for Alpha02 after he stepped back from day-to-day operations. DeSnake is also highlighted as a potential contender for the title of 'King of the Dark Web' after the relaunch of AlphaBay in 2021.

Highlights

Alpha02, the pseudonym of a multi-millionaire living a luxurious life in Bangkok, was the mastermind behind the dark web marketplace AlphaBay.

The Royal Thai Police, FBI, and DEA had been planning his arrest for months, culminating in a staged car accident to lure him out.

The dark web's growth in the early 2010s was facilitated by Bitcoin, offering a new form of payment outside of government control.

The Silk Road was a legendary dark web marketplace that operated from 2011 to 2013 before its founder received a life sentence.

Following the closure of the Silk Road, the number of darknet markets increased significantly, with Silk Road 2.0 emerging shortly after.

Evolution and Agora were other significant darknet marketplaces before AlphaBay rose to prominence.

AlphaBay was launched by Alpha02 in July 2014, initially offering stolen credit card data before expanding to other illicit goods and services.

AlphaBay's platform was user-friendly, similar to Amazon, and offered anonymity through cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Monero, and Ethereum.

Alpha02 prohibited items or data related to child abuse and Russian bank account information, possibly to avoid conflict with Russian law enforcement.

AlphaBay's success led to a rapid increase in users and sellers, with over 200,000 registered users and 40,000 sellers within a year.

Alpha02 became a multimillionaire by taking a percentage of every transaction on AlphaBay, which saw over half a million dollars in sales daily by 2017.

The DEA received a breakthrough lead in the form of an old welcome email from AlphaBay containing the sender's email address in the metadata.

The email address [email protected] was linked to Alexandre Cazes, providing a significant lead for investigators.

Cazes' online presence, including social media profiles and a PayPal account, helped investigators track his location to Bangkok, Thailand.

Operation Bayonet was a coordinated effort by the FBI, DEA, and law enforcement from seven countries to take down AlphaBay and arrest Alpha02.

The Dutch authorities took control of the Hansa Market, creating a honeypot to collect evidence against thousands of criminals before its eventual shutdown.

Cazes was arrested on July 5, 2017, and was found logged into the AlphaBay server, allowing authorities to access the platform.

Following his arrest, Cazes committed suicide in custody on July 12, 2017, marking the end of the notorious AlphaBay operation.

The shutdown of AlphaBay and Hansa Market was announced by the US Department of Justice on July 20, 2017, as a significant victory for global law enforcement.

Despite the takedown of major darknet marketplaces, new ones quickly emerged, with the Russian marketplace Hydra becoming a significant player.

DeSnake, a representative of Alpha02, relaunched AlphaBay in 2021, continuing the legacy of the darknet marketplace.

Transcripts

On the morning of July 5th, 2017,

a man sits in front of his laptop

in his villa in Bangkok.

Online

he is only known under a pseudonym:

Alpha02

He is a multi-millionaire,

lives a luxurious life

and drives expensive cars.

He feels safe in Thailand.

Suddenly,

he hears a loud bang

in front of his house.

A woman crashed her Toyota Camry

into his front gate.

He leaves everything behind

and runs out of his house to the scene of the accident.

A mistake

with serious consequences.

The driver

is an agent of the Royal Thai Police force.

FBI and DEA investigators

have been waiting for this moment

for months.

Authorities from seven countries

have worked relentlessly

towards this day.

Will the hunt for the king of the dark web

finally

come to an end?

The Wired journalist Andy Greenberg

has published the story

on the hunt for the Darknet kingpin

in a multi-part series.

Additionally,

there's a phenomenal

Darknet Diaries episode on Operation Bayonet,

which is covered in chapter 3 of this video.

You can find both links in the description.

It's the early 2010s.

The dark web is picking up speed.

The promises of anonymity

and privacy

are attracting more and more people.

Thanks to Bitcoin,

there is a new form of payment

that isn't controlled by authorities.

It's become easier than ever

for criminals to sell their products online

at a massive scale.

With the advent of the dark web,

the gigantic global game

of cat and mouse began

and it continues to this day.

The Silk Road

is perhaps the most legendary

dark web marketplace to date.

The platform went live in February 2011

and became incredibly popular.

More than 100,000 customers

bought drugs there,

but only 2.5 years later,

the operator of the site was caught

and the Silk Road went offline.

The authorities wanted to set an example

in the fight against drugs.

The Silk Road founder

received a life sentence.

But the business was too lucrative

to drive away other operators.

So after the closure of the Silk Road,

the number of darknet markets

exploded.

They all fought for the top spot.

Silk Road 2.0

was released just 35 days

after the closure of its predecessor.

The site survived

less than a year.

Evolution was another popular marketplace

with a comparable size

to the two Silk Roads.

To buy things on evolution,

you had to pay Bitcoin to an account on the platform,

a kind of dark web escrow account.

And once the items arrived to the customers,

the sellers were paid.

There was an incredible amount of money

with the platform operators at all times.

At some point, these operators

decided to steal this money,

a so-called exit scam.

Agora has also been named

as a worthy successor

to the original Silk Road.

But the founders

voluntarily took the site offline

in August 2015.

Business was getting too hot.

Exit scams,

arrests,

voluntary withdrawals

and hacks.

All of these were benefiting

a new emerging dark web market:

AlphaBay.

In July 2014,

a man who calls himself "Alpha02"

starts to develop AlphaBay.

Only five months later,

his platform goes live.

Initially,

only stolen credit card data

is offered and sold,

but AlphaBay

quickly begins to offer more lucrative products.

In addition to data and logins,

there are now drugs, weapons

and malware.

Services such as money laundering

are also offered.

Few things are forbidden.

But items or data related to child abuse

hit-and-runs

and stolen bank account information from Russia

is strictly prohibited.

AlphaO2

probably doesn't want to mess

with Russian law enforcement agencies.

Maybe

he also wants to pretend to be Russian

in order to mislead investigators.

The website itself

works similar to Amazon.

It is user-friendly,

there are search functions,

filters and categories

You are able to pay with Bitcoin,

Monero or Ethereum.

This is supposed to provide anonymity.

AlphaBay even offers

a so-called tumbler,

purchases are blurred

by bundling multiple transactions

from different people.

The platform works well

and dominates the dark web.

While other marketplaces

popped up and disappeared.

AlphaBay remains strong.

The number of users is growing rapidly.

Barely a year after it was founded,

the site has more than 200,000

registered users and 40,000 sellers.

In 2017

AlphaBay has over

300,000 items on their website

and over half a million dollars in sales

every day.

AlphaO2 is making money

with every single transaction

receiving a share between 2 to 4%.

He becomes a multimillionaire.

Right now,

an entire team is working on AlphaBay.

Alpha02 has a representative named "DeSnake",

several moderators who handle disputes

between buyers and sellers

and a PR manager.

With the site's explosive success

the founder decides to retire

from day-to-day operations.

He renames himself.

"Alpha02" simply becomes "Admin"

From now on, communication

only runs through

“DeSnake”.

As AlphaO2 retreats,

American investigators

are paying more and more attention

to his true identity.

Who is the powerful mastermind

behind the platform

ruling the dark side of the Internet?

A hunt that stretches across the globe

and will last for more than several years

begins.

You don't have to surf the dark web

to find malware.

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VPNs can also help you

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Streaming services

have different catalogs

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With NordVPN you can access all of those catalogs.

This also works with news portals

such as the New York Daily.

The site cannot be accessed

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The American investigators

want to find out

where AlphaBay servers are located.

With access to the servers

they can close the platform

or secretly infiltrate it

and perhaps locate the operators.

IP addresses

provide information

about the locations of users and servers.

In closed networks like TOR.

Website requests are routed through

a number of random servers

around the world.

Routing through many servers cannot be traced back.

It is purposely made difficult

to find out where servers,

operators and sellers are located.

Because of that,

the American investigators

had to try a different way.

They start browsing the platform

and buy drugs anonymously,

hoping for any mistakes by the sellers.

Perhaps the product's packaging

or postage stamps

can provide clues to the identity

of the respective drug dealer.

Then they could arrest him.

But these are just the small fish.

Dealers come and go.

Investigators want Alpha02.

But the mastermind behind AlphaBay

seems to take every precaution.

He seems to know every rule

of the game.

So the investigators become desperate

until December 2016.

Robert Miller sits behind his desk

in Fresno, California.

He works for the DEA,

the American Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

He's working on AlphaBay.

And until this day,

it was a pretty thankless job.

But suddenly, an email

appears in his inbox.

The sender is anonymous.

It seems like AlphaO2

made a fatal mistake

in the early days of AlphaBay.

Every user who registered

on the website at the time

received a welcome email.

The email address of the true sender

was visible in the metadata

of this email.

Although the error was immediately corrected,

the anonymous tipster saved

one of those first welcome emails.

Maybe the tipster was one

of Alpha02's first customers,

maybe an operator of a competing site

that got a hold of the mail somehow.

Who knows?

Anyway,

he silently watched AlphaBay

growing on the dark web,

only to then hand the mail address

over to the DEA.

The email address is...

pimp...

[email protected]

This email

was the breakthrough

for Millar and his colleagues

Via the email address,

the investigators find photos from 2008

and 2009 of an "Alex" on Skyrock.com

That's a French-language social media platform.

He also linked an old dating profile.

The profile lists Trois-Rivières as his hometown.

It is located in southern Quebec, Canada.

According to the profile,

he was 17 years old at the time.

So the 91 in his email address

could be the year he was born.

He would have been 23 years old

when AlphaBay was founded.

The username "Alpha02" also appears

on a French-language technology forum.

In 2008 he explained how to remove a virus

from an image.

His email address is at the bottom of the post

and also his full name.

Alexandre Cazes.

The investigators have his name,

but where is he?

They find Caze's PayPal account.

He provided his private email address there as well.

Through his LinkedIn profile,

they also find out that he works

as a freelance software designer.

He also seems to run his own tech company

called EBX Technologies.

On Facebook the investigators find the profile

of his fiancee,

a Thai woman.

Apparently, the Canadian lives in Thailand.

The clues lead investigators

to the country's capital,

Bangkok.

With the help of Thai authorities,

the investigative team identifies

three properties owned by Cazes in the city.

One house is located in a gated community.

Alpha02 lives there with his wife.

Then there's a second house

and a 3 million worth mansion

in the outskirts of Bangkok.

He also has a holiday home in Phuket

and is in the process

of buying another villa in Cyprus.

Investigators begin tailing him.

The lifestyle of the multi-millionaire,

includes several cars.

Cazes enjoys driving around Bangkok

in his Lamborghini.

Agents watch him,

follow his routes

and track his iPhone.

Whereas Cazes lives in a beautiful house of his wife,

He invites his many affairs

to one of his other houses in Bangkok.

The investigators called that place

the "Bachelor Pad".

Cazes is an active member

of a pickup artist forum.

There, men give each other advice

on how to be successful with women.

Under the name Rawmeo

Cazes publishes conservative family values

and keeps a quasi-sexist live blog

about his "successful" sex life.

Other than that,

his everyday life is quite normal.

Pretty unspectacular

for the King of the dark web.

He gets up early,

checks his social media accounts,

works and is home a lot.

From time to time,

he attends a language course

or goes out to eat with his wife.

Around these routines,

the authorities meticulously plan

his arrest.

In June 2017,

a few weeks before the attack,

a few American agents

were sitting in the lounge

of the 5-star Athenee Hotel

in Bangkok.

Suddenly Cazes appears.

He parks his Porsche Panamera

at the entrance and casually

strolls through the lobby area

straight towards the agents.

There are thousands of hotels in Bangkok.

Are they busted?

Has the king of the dark web outwitted them?

Cazes sits at a table

a few meters away from the agents.

They have never been so close to him.

But he only meets for a business dinner.

An incredible coincidence.

At this point,

no one suspects

that just one month later,

Cazes

will be dead.

AlphaBay

is the largest darknet

market in the world at this time.

But there is competition.

In Europe, the Hansa Market is growing rapidly,

keeping European authorities busy.

Dutch investigators

find the servers of the Hansa Market

thanks to a tip

from a security researcher.

They're located

in a data center

in the Netherlands.

Unique opportunity arises.

They monitor the servers,

copy the data

and dig through countless chat entries

from the operators of the site.

They find out that the operators are Germans,

who probably still live in Germany.

Together with the German

Federal Criminal Police ("BKA"),

the Dutch want to bring the Hansa Market

under their control.

But suddenly the Hansa Market disappears

from the Dutch servers.

The admins probably found out

that their servers had been copied.

In the chats of the operators

the authorities also find

a few Bitcoin addresses.

They start tracking the transactions

of these bitcoin wallets

until they end up

at a Dutch crypto exchange.

They contact the exchange

and ask for the data.

The bitcoins lead to Lithuania.

Together with the authorities there,

the Germans and the Dutch

try and locate the new servers.

This time the authorities want to strike.

But something unexpected happens.

The FBI tells European authorities

about their plans to arrest AlphaO2

and to shut down AlphaBay.

"Operation Bayonet" is born.

The operation is led by the FBI and DEA

and involves the cooperation

of law enforcement agencies

from a total of 7 countries.

Europol is also involved.

The FBI is instructed to wait

with the takedown of AlphaBay

until the Dutch in cooperation

with the Germans

have taken control

of the Hansa Market.

If AlphaBay is taken down,

Hansa would be swamped

with new buyers and sellers.

This is often the case

in the dark web

when a site closes

or if there's an exit scam,

customers and dealers

simply move.

But this time,

customers and dealers would move to a site

that's been hijacked by law enforcement.

With that data,

the Dutch could convict thousands

of unsuspecting criminals.

A honeypot.

Alexander Cazes knows nothing.

He continues to drive through Bangkok

in his Lamborghini,

writes nonsense in his favorite forum

and cheats on his wife.

On June 20th, 2017,

the first part of the mission succeeds.

The data center in Lithuania

is stormed by Dutch forces.

At the same time,

German authorities arrest the two operators

of the Hansa Market

in Siegen and Cologne.

The operators cannot warn anyone

before their arrest.

The Hansa Market

is under Dutch control

and nobody in the dark web

knows about it.

July 5th, 2017, Bangkok.

It’s time.

There's a warrant for Cazes.

Today, the Royal Thai Police,

DEA and FBI

will arrest him.

Alpha02 could finally be put down

after more than 2 years.

A gray Toyota Camry

drives down a dead-end road

towards Cazes house

with the Royal Thai Police force agent

at the wheel.

She tells the security guard

that she took a wrong turn.

She wants to turn around,

but "unintentionally" causes

a minor accident.

The noise and chaos

are supposed to lure Cazes

out of his house.

He's supposed to come out spontaneously

without thinking about it.

This part is important:

In the optimal case,

his devices should stay unlocked

when he is getting arrested.

If his hard drives were locked and encrypted,

it would be difficult for authorities

to access AlphaBay.

Cazes leaves his house

and approaches the Toyota.

He has a cell phone on him.

Suddenly,

several officers try to catch Cazes.

He attempts to run back inside,

possibly to shut down his computer.

But he's overpowered.

The investigators run into his house

and look for his laptop.

It's in the bedroom

on and not on Stand by.

The officials have caught him.

Alpha02

is still logged into the server

hosting AlphaBay.

Investigators searched the laptop

and find multiple passwords

for the AlphaBay website

and servers.

The Canadian had a fortune

of $23 million.

Authorities confiscated his luxury cars,

houses a hotel

and millions in cryptocurrency.

Cazes wife is charged.

The Thai woman is accused

of money laundering.

[Trigger Warning Suicide - Skip Forward 20 Seconds]

1 week later, on July 12.

Alexander Cazes

is dead.

He committed suicide while in custody.

The King of the Dark Web

is history.

The shutdown of AlphaBay by authorities

is being purposely kept secret

for the time being

when the platform is suddenly offline,

no one knows why.

An exit scam?

A hack?

Have the operators retired?

As expected,

countless users migrate

to the other Darknet platforms,

including the Hansa Market.

For four weeks,

the Dutch authorities

watched thousands of criminals

trade on the platform.

They collect valuable incriminating evidence.

So on July 20th, 2017,

the Hansa Market is shut down as well.

On the same day,

the US Department of Justice

announces the end of AlphaBay

and Hansa,

a gigantic success

for the global authorities.

The dark web itself

is not an evil technology

just for criminals.

We need places on the Internet

in which whistleblowers and journalists

are relatively safe.

Marketplaces like AlphaBay

or however still part of the picture.

The global game of

cat-and-mouse is far from over.

The demand for illegal drugs,

weapons, counterfeit money

and malware is too high.

It didn't take long

for the Hansa Market

and AlphaBay

to be forgotten.

Users flocked to other existing platforms.

A number of new Darknet markets

sprouted up

and positioned themselves better

than the former market leaders.

The Russian Darknet market Hydra

was at times more than twice the size

of AlphaBay.

In 2021,

it was also shut down

by German and American authorities.

So now there's a new contest

for the title

of the King of the Dark Web.

A promising contender

is the "DeSnake".

He relaunched AlphaBay in 2021

and still runs the darknet marketplace

to this day.