Bitdefender has worked with international authorities including Europol and Finnish Customs to seize illegal narcotics trade website Piilopuoti. The site operated as a hidden service on the encrypted Tor network and was used by criminals to sell narcotics smuggled into Finland.
Speaking about the takedown, Bitdefender Senior Director, Investigation and Forensics, Alexandru Catalin Cosoi said:
“We are extremely pleased that PIILOPUOTI has been seized and would like to congratulate law enforcement, Finnish Customs and everyone involved. This operation is a prime example of the public and private sector pooling resources and working together to disrupt illegal online activities. It should also serve as a wake-up call for criminals who falsely believe their infrastructures, anonymity, and actions are fully protected by the dark web. They should understand if they are in the crosshairs of an international effort, they will eventually be brought to justice.”
A release from Finnish Customs is below,
Contents of the Piilopuoti web server seized by Finnish Customs – major breakthrough in the anonymous Tor network
Finnish Customs has seized the “Piilopuoti” web server in cooperation with foreign authorities, and seized the contents of the server. The web server was operational in the Tor network since 2022.
The Finnish-language website that sold narcotics opened on 18 May 2022. The site operated as a hidden service in the encrypted Tor network. The site has been used in anonymous criminal activities such as narcotics trade. As a rule, the narcotics sold on the site were smuggled to Finland from abroad.
During the preliminary investigation into the case, Finnish Customs has conducted extensive cooperation with German and Lithuanian authorities, as well as Europol, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust), authorities of other countries, and various police units in Finland.
The criminal investigation is still underway. At this point, Finnish Customs and our international cooperation partners will not provide any further information on the matter.
