Am I the only one that's wondering why LE isn't broadcasting their "takedown" of AlphaBay.

They always make a big announcement right away after major busts. They even plastered all their alphabet soup agency logos onto the Silk Road 1 site when they shut it down. Have they found a way to find these DNM servers, and just keeping quiet about it so they can maybe find other Market servers in the future and shut them down? Are they about to shut down other sites, and just waiting on that to make a big announcement?


Comments


[72 Points] Wamboz:

My theory is that AB actually didn't get busted. The news got their information from peoples theories on reddit, and then published the article, (wouldn't be the first time the press has used random reddit comments as factual sorces) and now everyone beleives they got popped, but AB actually exit scammed.


[27 Points] None:

Either they couldn't or they are not done. My guess is the latter.


[12 Points] deep_touch:

Everything published so far has been complete hearsay. It seems like a shitty Machiavelli story


[8 Points] Mr_Spraybutter:

Am I the only one who thinks alex is in witness protection? And now ratting on everyone he can? If he is the admin/developer he'd be the one who could take down everyone of importance.


[10 Points] earthmoonsun:

Maybe the bust didn't go as smooth as planned. One dead, others escaped, most data encrypted, little clue how to proceed.


[3 Points] Zherms:

A few months back the largest pedophile darkweb ring servers were discovered, FBI took over and planted malware on anyone's pc that visited. Same thing?


[4 Points] ironmanluvsblkwidow:

That man was a set up while the rest of the admins skated with the coin. You don't have to run faster than the bear, just the guy behind you and thats what they did. They quit while they were ahead and had a sacrificial lamb.


[4 Points] tezosdude:

Not sure any agency is going to advertise a case where their main suspect killed himself after arrest. In effect, for them there is no case any more.


[3 Points] MrOwnageQc:

Someone get Ja Rule to make some sense into this


[2 Points] CastleCrasherOG:

where is r/conspiracy when you need them


[2 Points] DeliChopz:

Damn AB is gone? That's crazy how in just a few weeks or so things can change so much. I'm not really into the markets these days I just like reading and keeping up when I can. We all know nothing good lasts forever and this whole scene is becoming all too common knowledge. It's trickled down into my circle, the fact that people around me even know about these services makes me cringe. I can feel a rant coming on so I'll restrain myself, but who knows about the future of the markets, I'm just glad I was apart of it when it was truly something special.


[2 Points] Vikas-shuk1a:

Glade I wasn't storing any money out there. The most I'm out is some BTC dust, $5 if that.


[1 Points] stonedbuyer01:

the rogue agent kept it low profile so he can now find the etc for himself


[1 Points] ThrowAway20696:

It took them 4 weeks + to add the banner to Bloomsfield. They will be still planning more arrests sooner or later it will go up.


[1 Points] ChaoticVegan:

Oh shit. I hadn't been following the darknet lately, it finally happened? Hansa master race now?


[1 Points] throwaway0905161:

They were able to post the banner on the silk road because the feds caught Ross with his laptop open, so they had access to the server. I assume alphabay learned from that and had some sort of killswitch so they had no access to their server


[1 Points] kookieless:

My mind is in a few places on this, Either it wasn't an LE bust and it is just reddit speculation and news media reporting on reddit comments. That leads to question, what was the bust in Quebec about, and where was alexandre involved in as far as his criminal activities are concerned. If it was an LE bust they either fucked up, are not done, or can't take over the servers (ie there is more servers they don't have access to).


[1 Points] Hi_Im_New_Here___:

I think when they popped Ross the powers that be were like, "Ha! We got you, you fucker! Drugs is bad!"

Shortly after they realized this thing is pretty big and is growing. Remember all those hydra comments about new heads popping out everywhere? Ross was an important take down for them, but they didn't fully understand what they were up against.

They've gotten smarter. A lot smarter. They realize that when they openly post a bunch of shit it just tips off targets and provides an opportunity for them to either change up their game or exit. Upgrade OPSEC or GTFO.

They realized that they can get "in" and start spreading, like a virus or cancer, within the community. Don't mistake silence for lack of activity. Behind the scenes they have put their ducks in a row, so to speak. They are still working.

Posting shit like they did with Ross would imply that they won this round. Their efforts have moved from winning rounds to winning fights, possibly by knockout. They may seem quiet publicly, while getting organized behind the scenes, injecting risks at every step of the process from purchasing bitcoin, logging in and placing an order, the process from mail drop to mail delivery, local intel on users and dealers.

It's no longer, "We got you fucker!" They have gained tremendous ground. I fear that the community is at or near a tipping point. Many of those not involved have gone from being eager and curious outsiders, thinking of getting involved, to spectators who do not see a favorable risk/reward. Many of those involved at the vendor level have been taken down. The amount of personal information that is in the government's possession is astounding, and there is more evidence of them working down and also focusing on purchasers.

I don't see a lot of new people coming into the community and I see a lot of staples either being taken down, easing into the background to conduct business, or scamming. We no longer have a major market, the remaining markets are stretched thin and there is disagreement and dissent in the community regarding ethics (what should be sold and how).

The days of people semi-innocently buying a k-pack every couple weeks and flipping them to resellers seem to have gone away. The novelty of buying a few personal things has worn off for many. There are enough counterfeit and scary chemicals out there to make people wary. Those who have to daily feed a monkey on their back cannot depend on the DNM. The safety angle (because we have reviews to ensure the product quality) is more of a myth than a reality. There are only maybe a handful of household name vendors that are still out there, and many of them are too big for the curious periodic buyer - they have resellers for that.

In other words, what are the current motivations for people to either join or continue to use the DNMs? What are the risks involved? Is it worth it? How confident are you when role-playing this game?

My answer to that a few years ago was a resounding "Yes!!!" My answer now would be more along the lines of, "meh, I need to learn all that shit, and it's a bunch of scams anyway." What is the community planning to do about this?


[0 Points] OpOnymousSurvivor:

they know its a game of wack-a-mole

good fucking luck stopping all of them Feds, good fucking luck


[-3 Points] None:

Let's see they busted one admin, said admin commits suicide, so yeah of course they aren't going to announce it. It's embarrassing if you ask me. As to whether or not they even have access to these servers is a complete mystery. I think the Admins wife or son snitched the password and shit to the Feds last I heard.


[-4 Points] entrippy11:

they will in a few days after they get Dream and Hansa too