Dark web drug marketplace Sipulitie taken over by law enforcement

Finnish authorities have closed the marketplace’s servers and taken over their contents, confounding drug buyers’ hopes of anonymity.

Finnish customs, or Tulli as it’s locally known, took over Sipulitie’s servers and confiscated their contents, the agency announced. The marketplace, which has been operating since 2023, has been used for “criminal activities,” such as anonymously purchasing drugs.

Sipulitie came to life after its predecessor, Sipulimarket, was busted by the police in 2020. The authorities believe that both marketplaces were run by the same administrator. The drug lord took no respite between closing one and opening another dark web marketplace, Tulli claims.

From 2022 until recently, the same person operated a chat-based drug sale website called Tsätti, which has now also been shut down.

While Tulli did not reveal who was behind the marketplaces, the authorities claim that the bust revealed the identities of parties involved in the solicitation of narcotics. The administrator, the marketplace’s moderators, customer service staff, and sellers and buyers were all identified after taking over Sipulitie’s servers.

While there’s no authoritative indication on Sipulitie’s turnover, the administrator himself bragged on the dark web that the marketplace brought in around €1.3 million ($1.4 million).

According to Hannu Sinkkonen, Tulli’s Director of enforcement, international cooperation was key to the operation's success.

“Finnish Customs have intervened effectively using many different methods in the criminal activities taking place on the dark web. The smooth cooperation of the authorities at both the national and international level is a key factor in the fight against online crime,” Sinkkonen said.