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Dark Web Marketplace AlphaBay Shuts For Good After Police Raids (theregister.co.uk)

Dark web marketplace AlphaBay's closure last week followed an international law enforcement operation and multiple raids, it has emerged. It has also been reported that a key suspect who was arrested in the raids has died in custody. From a report: The world's biggest online drug bazaar dropped offline on 5 July, sparking fears that its administrators had disappeared taking a swag bag of digital currency with them, pulling an "exit scam" like other dark web marketplace kingpins before them. The Wall Street Journal reports that a Canadian suspected of running AlphaBay was arrested in Thailand on 5 July following an international police operation involving authorities in the US and Canada as well as Thailand. Alexandre Cazes, the 26-year-old who had been accused of being the site's admin, was found dead in a Thai jail cell on Wednesday, the WSJ adds. The Bangkok Post reported that Cazes had been resident in Thailand for about eight years and had a Thai wife. Thai authorities said they'd seized four Lamborghini cars and three upmarket residences with a combined value of $11.7m (400 million Thai Baht). US authorities had apparently been seeking to extradite Cazes at the time of his death.

57 of 112 comments (clear)

  1. Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Thai authorities said they'd seized four Lamborghini cars and three upmarket residences with a combined value of $11.7m (400 million Thai Baht). US authorities had apparently been seeking to extradite Cazes at the time of his death.

    This guy could have lead a very comfortable life bouncing around the globe traveling, occasionally logging in to make sure things were running smoothly and shifting money out.

    1. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by Dunbal · · Score: 1

      Confirming they never check your identity at any border.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    2. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 1

      Did his passport say "AlphaBay Founder"?

    3. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by Dunbal · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Did his house in Thailand say "AlphaBay Founder". They found HIM then they figured out where to get him. No one issued a warrant for "the person or persons living at IP XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX". So if they know who to arrest, it's not hard to put the flag to stop him at the border of any cooperating country.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
    4. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by PPH · · Score: 1

      Baptist minister in Texas. Nobody will look at you too hard. And having a garage full of Lamborghinis and a few private jets will just blend you in to that crowd.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    5. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

      Did his house in Thailand say "AlphaBay Founder".

      Dude. He had four Lamborghini and three houses in Thailand. The price of a lambo is like $200k. The average monthly wages for a worker in thailand is evidently $4k. The price of those cars was equal to 16 years of the average worker's wages.

      Fuck checking ID at the border. A 26 year old throwing that kind of money around is going to be all the ID law enforcement outside of a very small number of rich countries need to demand payoffs. You know he's doing something illegal.

      I'd guess that's why he was "found" dead.

      DS is right. No matter what country you're in, unless you're from old money and make regular payoffs up VERY high, don't attract that level of attention if you're a criminal.

    6. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by gweihir · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Indeed. It is a criminal "best practice" to stay under the radar. As is usual in these cases, he will be replaced by more careful operators within no time. Meanwhile, the utterly senseless "War on Drugs" (really a war on self-determination and what you can do for fun waged by authoritarian scum) will continue without any positive effects, but doing massive damage.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    7. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

      Reformed criminal chiming in to say, You got it 100% correct.. However very few people understand that, and the people that do understand it, and have the power to do something about it don't want to.

    8. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      What is the point of being rich if no one knows about it?

      There is having enough money to live well, but after a point when you have too much money thus you gain the stress and problems of having too much money. There is no value in having a lot of money, having to deal with the stress of having all this money, and then getting treated like a normal guy.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    9. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Thanks. There do not seem to be a lot of people around that understand anything. And those that do usually do not want power because they can see how it utterly corrupts those that do have it. Kind of a negative feedback-loop where only people completely unsuitable to wield it get power. Unless the human race learn to screen them out, the future does not look good.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    10. Re: Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      4k? You got something wrong.

    11. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 1

      They found HIM then they

      How did they find HIM? Did he put his name in the AB source code?

      then they figured out where to get him

      "Hey locals, you know of anyone that has a stupid amount of money in the area"?

      Would it have been as easy to find him if he wasn't flaunting $12M+ in assets?

      if they know who to arrest

      How did they figure that out?

    12. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by rahvin112 · · Score: 2

      The money was likely how they found him. Bitcoin and other crypto currencies are completely traceable if it is a real bank account or are converted a real money. They only remain anonymous while they are never used. The minute you do anything with them you tie them to your real life and with block chain public it becomes trivial for law enforcement to follow the block chain transaction to your real bank account and arrest you. A canadian living in Thailand with millions in money was likely creating so many transactions that it was trivial for them to trace him, the hard part was the international police effort but they likely had him for months while it was arranged.

      Silk Road would have never been caught if it hadn't been for his early advertising that tied it to his real name because he'd never converted to cash any of the collected bitcoins he received which never gave them the financial transaction to tie to him.

    13. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Rule 1. Don't attract attention.

      Rule 2. Don't send your psychopath son to meet with Russian spies.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    14. Re: Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

      I was just reading the "constant 2005 US$ at PPP." Some googling reveals that yeah, those numbers must not mean what I thought they mean. It appears the average wage would actually be ten times lower?

    15. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by kaatochacha · · Score: 1

      More than likely, the local police were being paid off to look the other way at his dealings. When heavy attention came on, he suddenly got hung. Corruption doesn't like a spotlight.

    16. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      This is a Thai prison. The question is, was he raped before or after he "hung himself"?

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    17. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by John.Banister · · Score: 1

      This is why people launder money.

    18. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by Rod+Beauvex · · Score: 1

      Unless you're an 80 year old granny.

    19. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2

      will continue without any positive effects, but doing massive damage.

      Cui bono?

      It's positive for policemen and those who sell their toys.
      It's positive for prison owners and unions.
      It's positive for the "justice" system.
      It's positive for the people who sell "interdiction" equipment.
      It's positive for politicians who need an internal enemy.
      It's positive for black ops budgets.
      It's positive for big pharma.
      It's positive for organized crime.

      It's only doing massive damage to The People. And that's who it's a War on.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    20. Re: Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by PPH · · Score: 1

      So brave...

      Explain.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    21. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by Serge_Tomiko · · Score: 1

      You don't understand how the blockchain works.

    22. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Indeed.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    23. Re: Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      You likely weren't even born yet when Carter lost the election.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    24. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by Megol · · Score: 1

      It would be nice if you just once "thought it through" before posting. Unsupported speculation = not worth shit.

      Or stating it in another way: Have you stopped raping your victims before hanging them?

    25. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by Megol · · Score: 1

      Rule 3. Don't post stupid shit on /.

    26. Re: Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by that+this+is+not+und · · Score: 1

      You're the guy in the break room at work who always brings up politics. Nobody likes it when you are around.

    27. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by gweihir · · Score: 1

      The only one that said "all drug use" here is you. Seems you lack that thinking capability that you require of others.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    28. Re: Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      Nobody likes it when you are around.

      Your mama likes it when I'm around.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    29. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      You don't understand how bitcoin tumblers work.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    30. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Reformed...me too. That's the ticket...

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    31. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

      Yes sir! Money is a lot easier to come by this way, and I don't have to look over my shoulder for cops and other criminals anymore. Far less stressful. I hear people talk about stress at work and I just chuckle and think to myself "If you only knew what stress was."

    32. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      It would be nice if you bothered to look up the reputation of Thai prisons before shit-posting. Not exactly 1st-world conditions (then again, neither are many US prisons).

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    33. Re:Rule 1. Don't attract attention. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Like I said on another thread. I'd never steal a million dollars, but 200 million+? You'd never see me again.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  2. I am aghast! by Baron_Yam · · Score: 3, Funny

    Where will I spend my Bitcoin now?

    1. Re:I am aghast! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Just hang on to it and watch the value plummet.

    2. Re:I am aghast! by gnick · · Score: 1

      Where will I spend my Bitcoin now?

      Dream Market for one. They're not as big as AlphaBay, but they're big enough. Lop off one head...

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    3. Re:I am aghast! by gweihir · · Score: 2

      As long as there is a reasonable product and buyers, there will be a market. The problem here is authoritarians that are unable to respect the life-choices of others. And it is them that are responsible for all drug-related crime.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    4. Re:I am aghast! by s_p_oneil · · Score: 1

      Try darkweb.honeypot.com

    5. Re:I am aghast! by nnet · · Score: 1

      buying thai bhat. do try to keep up.

    6. Re:I am aghast! by gweihir · · Score: 2

      You are apparently too dumb to understand the difference between a crime with a victim and one without one. And you are also apparently too dumb to see what causes the majority of problems that drug users have.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  3. Suspicious to say the least by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Sounds like he was murdered to keep him from talking. Probably a CIA hit.

    1. Re:Suspicious to say the least by Dunbal · · Score: 2

      Or someone took the $5 wrench technique seriously when obtaining his passwords and hit him once too many times.

      --
      Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  4. "Found dead" by WolfgangVL · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Nice.

    I suppose when they seize everything, you can no longer grease the hand that feeds you.
    OR
    Maybe he was a loudmouth asshole in a place where loudmouth assholes are often "found dead"?

    Ether way, I imagine Tai prison is a special kind of hell.

    --
    You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
    1. Re:"Found dead" by Gilgaron · · Score: 2

      Well he probably had the local law enforcement paid off and figured he was safe. Once it got international law attention the locals aren't going to want to be implicated...

    2. Re:"Found dead" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Drug trafficking can get you the death penalty in Thailand.

    3. Re:"Found dead" by gravewax · · Score: 1

      deadmouth is far safer for anyone else involved. Especially for someone so young regardless of how guarded he was with his mouth.

  5. I'm waiting for my man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    26 bitcoins in my hand.

  6. Don't cut into the CIA's market by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    or they and the corrupt government behind them will come for you.

  7. Admirable by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    Alexandre Cazes, the 26-year-old who had been accused of being the site's admin, was found dead in a Thai jail cell on Wednesday,...Thai authorities said they'd seized four Lamborghini cars

    Although not the lifestyle for me, you have to admire someone who adheres so purely to the motto "Live Fast and Die Young".

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  8. Is Thailand by fredrated · · Score: 1

    using the Philippine model, simply kill drug dealers?

  9. Re: i bought all my phenatyl from narcoking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    People only get hurt because these drugs are illegal in the first place. Other than second-hand smoke, there is relatively no harm to anyone else in using the drugs other than to the user. If a free country, you are supposed to be free unless someone else gets harmed by what you are doing.

    Please don't respond to this by saying drugs create crime. Anything if value creates crime, like iPhones. There would be less crime if there weren't $750 phones sitting in everyone's pocket.

    I'm not a drug user, and I'm not anti-law enforcement. But how many lives have been ruined by the war on drugs because saidnlife wanted to try something different or new, and we threw them in jail for it? If someone wants to harm themselves for a feeling (I'm look at you, smokers), then by all means, go ahead.

    Imagine how rich drug kingpins and rackets are, and how much tax money we lose out on, and how much value gets exported when we import illegal drugs because there are no local suppliers? Every aspect of these drug laws sucks.

  10. Re: Dark Web Marketplace AlphaBay Shuts For Good A by CGordy · · Score: 1

    Not even. He was a Canadian citizen, but the US government were trying to extradite him.

  11. Re:In the beginning was Silk Road... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    You're missing 1,000+ links. Remember that Slashdot is my marketing fishbowl. I've been studying the data closely for the last three months.

  12. Re:In the beginning was Silk Road... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    All your hundreds of hours spent "marketing" is because you don't have the resources to do anything more interesting with your life.

    I enjoy being an entrepreneur. I've been doing it for ten years now. Lacking resources forces me to do more with less and find creative solutions.

  13. Re:In the beginning was Silk Road... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    You've only made about 700 posts total on here over three years.

    According to my Slashdot comment history scraper script:

    Pages Processed: 690, Comments (Accepted/Total): 10314/10337
    Oldest Date: 2008-08-04, Newest Date: 2017-07-14
    Scores (13351) | -1: 93, 0: 451, 1: 7737, 2: 1091, 3: 415, 4: 355, 5: 172
    Bonuses ( 1007) | Flamebait: 35, Funny: 317, Informative: 214, Insightful: 359, Interesting: 289, Offtopic: 52, Redundant: 11, Troll: 74
    Total Time: 00:18:42.00

    You simply couldn't have made 1000+ affiliate links.

    I've posted 3,570 comments this year. That's 1/3 of my total comments, which means 1/3 were affiliate links.

    It's impossible, you fat disgusting liar.

    You need to read, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change" by Stephen R. Covey. A great book. I first read it while in college in the early 1990's.

  14. Re:In the beginning was Silk Road... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    You're an amazingly simple man to trick into responding the way I want.

    You just confirmed whose ass those bogus numbers came out of. Trolls are so predictable.