Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) announced the seizure of two websites and two arrests:
In an internationally coordinated operation by the Central Office for Combating Internet Crime ( ZIT ) of the Public Prosecutor General’s Office in Frankfurt am Main, the Hessian State Criminal Police Office ( HLKA ) and the Federal Criminal Police Office ( BKA ) on suspicion of various cybercrime offenses, officers of the HLKA executed two arrest warrants yesterday and secured extensive evidence.
The two defendants, aged 19 and 28, from Darmstadt and the Rhein-Lahn district, are accused of having provided and administered various criminal infrastructures on the Internet, which were used, among other things , for the trafficking of narcotics in considerable quantities and for computer sabotage by means of so-called DDoS attacks.
The accused are suspected of operating a criminal trading platform on the Internet for commercial and gang purposes in accordance with Section 127 of the Criminal Code. The two accused are to be brought before the judge today.
Specifically, the two suspects in the HLKA investigation are accused of having offered and sold, among other things, a considerable amount of narcotics as administrators of the online platform “Flight RCS” . “Flight RCS” was a marketplace for designer drugs and liquids made of synthetic cannabinoids accessible via the free internet (Clearweb). These are consumed using vape pens or with herbal mixtures, have become particularly popular among children and young people and often lead to intoxication and medical emergencies.
In addition, the two suspects are accused in the BKA ‘s investigation of having been involved in the operation of the online platform “Dstat. CC “. This is a central scene platform which, with a comprehensive list and evaluation of stresser services, enabled the simple and quick execution of DDoS attacks in order to attack websites or other web-based services and restrict their availability or make them completely unresponsive. The platform made such DDoS attacks accessible to a wide range of users, even those without any in-depth technical skills of their own. The use of stresser services to carry out DDoS attacks has recently become increasingly common in police investigations and has also been used by hacktivist groups such as “Killnet”. The current measures are part of the international Operation PowerOff, in which a large number of international law enforcement authorities are taking action against such “DDos -as -a- service ” services.
In total, seven properties were searched in this concerted operation by the HLKA together with the BKA and the North Rhine-Westphalia police. These were located in Frankfurt am Main, Darmstadt, the Rhein-Lahn district and the Rheinisch-Bergischer district. As part of international cooperation, seizures and support were provided in France, Greece, Iceland and the United States of America.
As part of these measures, the IT infrastructures of the criminal platforms were also secured. The data secured is the basis for further investigations against criminal sellers and users of the platforms. The measures are a further blow against actors in the underground economy and demonstrate the effectiveness of international law enforcement in the digital space.
The following seizure banners were published on the two websites today:
Source: BKA
Source: BKA
The head of the ZIT , senior public prosecutor Dr. Benjamin Krause, says about the investigation success:
” The new blow against the underground economy on the Internet shows that criminal trading platforms exist not only in the darknet but also in the so-called clearnet , on which prohibited goods and services are offered. But the blow also shows that law enforcement authorities are able to destroy the IT infrastructure of these platforms and identify and arrest the people suspected of being behind them .”
The President of the Hessian State Criminal Police Office, Andreas Röhrig, says:
” The allegations against those arrested are serious. I am therefore very pleased with this investigative success and the course of the operation. The result of the operation makes it clear once again that there is no anonymity for criminals on the Internet. In fact, security authorities are able to identify suspects even in highly complex and cross-border investigations such as this one.”
The Vice President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Martina Link , emphasizes:
” This success shows once again that together we can successfully take action against such cyber criminals by identifying suspects and their infrastructure and generating new investigative approaches through securing them. In cyberspace too, the security authorities are capable of taking action! “
