A Russian court sentenced Stanislav Moiseev, leader of the famous online drug market Hydra, to life in prison and a fine of four million rubles (approximately $37,500).
Fifteen other members of the group received prison sentences of between eight and 23 years and a collective fine of 16 million rubles, worth approximately $150,000. The charges against them included the production and distribution of illegal drugs and psychotropic substances in Russia and Belarus between 2015 and 2018.
Alleged Hydra founder sentenced to life in prison
According to the update According to the Moscow Prosecutor General’s Office, the group operated through encrypted online communication and undercover deliveries to facilitate drug trafficking on an industrial scale. Law enforcement dismantled their operation and confiscated large quantities of drugs, laboratory equipment and vehicles adapted for smuggling.
The court also confiscated the group’s vehicles, property and land for the benefit of the state. The sentences will be carried out in strict prison colonies, although appeals are expected.
Founded in 2015, Hydra was a dark web marketplace that served Russian-speaking users and offered illegal services such as drug trafficking, cryptocurrency laundering, currency exchange, sale of forged documents, and hacking tools.
On April 5, 2022, American and German law enforcement took down Hydra’s German servers and seized its cryptocurrency holdings. The platform, which had become the longest-running dark web marketplace, was valued at more than $1.3 billion at the time of its closure.
Although the identity of the founder is unknown, Russian media outlets TASS and Interfax have reported claims by anonymous law enforcement officials that Moiseyev was the mastermind behind Hydra.
Post-Hydra: How three markets gained ground in 2022
Darknet revenue fell sharply in 2022 to $1.5 billion, almost half of the $3.1 billion reported in 2021, following the collapse of Hydra.
Former Hydra users and vendors scattered among new platforms, with OMG!OMG!, Blacksprut, and Mega Darknet Market taking turns dominating the space. OMG gained traction immediately after Hydra’s shutdown, but lost users to Blacksprut after a DDoS attack in June 2022.
Blacksprut subsequently suffered its own attack in November of the same year, leading to more activity on Mega Market. Despite the competition, OMG remained the most active of the three for most of 2022.
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