German police nab suspect, data linked to criminal online marketplace

German police detained a man suspected of helping run what is thought to be the largest German-language online criminal marketplace, authorities revealed on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old man is accused of having been the technical administrator of the "Crimenetwork" platform for many years. Following his detention on Monday, he was brought before a magistrate and is now in custody, according to authorities.

Investigators were also able to shut down the platform's servers, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt jointly announced.

The BKA was also able to secure "extensive user and transaction data," which could provide valuable leads for further investigations into the structures behind the platform.

In addition to considerable evidence and high-value vehicles, crypto assets worth around €1 million ($1.1 million) were also seized, the authorities said.

Crimenetwork served as a marketplace for illegal goods and services, in particular for stolen data, drugs and forged documents, the authorities alleged.

At last count, authorities said that more than 100,000 users and over 100 sellers were registered on the platform. Users allegedly used the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Monero to pay for illegal goods and services.

Most of the platform's customers are believed to be located in German-speaking countries.

According to authorities, the operators of the platform are said to have received commission payments of 1% to 5% of the sales value for processing the transactions.

In addition, the sellers are said to have paid monthly fees to the platform operators, for example for advertising and for sales licenses.

According to the BKA, the investigation into the platform was supported by Dutch law enforcement authorities.