Only nine days after first launching on the web, a Silk Road copycat known as Utopia Marketplace has been seized by Dutch police.
In an operation dubbed “Commodore,” five men have been arrested for dabbling in illegal activities on the online drug market, according to a statement by prosecutors in the Netherlands.
While four suspects were accused of trafficking drugs and weapons, a fifth was arrested as he made his way to Germany in possession of cocaine, hashish, ecstasy and amphetamines, according to Forbes. The same man is being accused of attempted murder after sending a deposit to an undercover agent via the online black market.
Close to $596,000 worth in Bitcoins were seized from the suspects.
After an investigation, the FBI shut down Silk Road in October, leading to the arrest of its 29-year-old operator, Ross Ulbricht.
