Did the Russian Police Really Shut Down RAMP? Investigating the Truth Behind the “Biggest Operation” Claim

On September 19, 2017, TASS, citing the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), reported that police had managed to shut down the largest Russian-language darknet marketplace for psychoactive substances, RAMP (Russian Anonymous Marketplace), as a result of “conducted operations.” Three days later, in response to a request from Mediazona, the ministry clarified: it was not the entire platform that was taken down, but only three little-known stores out of several hundred.

What Happened to RAMP?

In early June 2017, users began noticing disruptions in the operation of RAMP, the largest Russian-language darknet market for psychoactive substances. First, the “instant stores”—the main tool for retail drug purchases—stopped working. Two weeks later, the forum itself went offline. Since then, the site has remained completely inaccessible.

The administrators never revealed the real reason for the shutdown, fueling conspiracy theories among users. Two main hypotheses emerged: first, a joint operation between law enforcement and the competing HYDRA marketplace; second, that RAMP’s creators absconded with users’ bitcoins stuck in the “instant store” wallets. The police’s silence only fueled speculation—if the MVD had truly destroyed the largest illegal market, why hadn’t the ministry’s press service reported it?

The MVD Breaks Its Silence

The silence was broken only on September 19, and not through the ministry’s press service. First, State Duma deputy Anton Gorelkin posted on Facebook a response from Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Mikhail Vanichkin to his inquiry. An hour later, TASS published a news story titled “MVD Reports Liquidation of Largest Online Drug Store.” The deputy had asked what measures the ministry was taking against online drug distribution. The response stated, “As a result of operations in July 2017, the largest Russian-language TOR marketplace, RAMP (Russian Anonymous Marketplace), was shut down.”

The document did not disclose details of the “operations,” only noting that the ministry “implements a set of measures aimed at identifying and suppressing the activities of criminal groups distributing synthetic drugs, potent substances, precursors, and cocaine via the internet.” Vanichkin also cited figures for the first half of 2017: according to his response, the MVD “shut down” 1,345 “internet resources used for drug trading” during that period. The ministry did not clarify whether these “resources” referred to RAMP’s instant stores, less popular Russian-language darknet forums, or Telegram bots.

Mediazona’s Inquiry and the MVD’s Clarification

That same day, Mediazona sent a request to the MVD asking for details about the “operations” that led to RAMP’s closure: did the ministry achieve this by physically destroying servers, arresting administrators, or by some other means? If there were arrests, Mediazona asked for the names and the criminal charges involved.

The response came three days later (and was later published on the MVD’s website). Unlike the reply to Vanichkin’s inquiry, this one stated that as a result of “a set of operational and investigative measures,” the ministry had stopped “the activities of several organized groups selling drugs using the RAMP trading platform”—meaning not the entire marketplace, but only a few stores.

What Did the Police Actually Do?

• First, according to the response, in March 2017, narcotics control officers detained two Russians who had received a package from Belgium via Sheremetyevo Airport containing 5.551 kilograms of MDMA. The MVD claims the suspects intended to sell the drugs through RAMP stores named LAMBO and “Lamborghini.”
• Second, the MVD reported the “exposure” and “suppression” of an “interregional organized group” consisting of employees of a RAMP store called AS. Police from Moscow, the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, and the Leningrad region took six days (July 27–August 1) to carry out the operation. The ministry did not disclose details but listed the results: seizure of 1.99 kg of amphetamine and 615 pieces of LSD-soaked paper, arrest of two group members, and initiation of a case under Article 30, Part 3, and Article 228.1, Part 5 of the Criminal Code (attempted large-scale drug trafficking).
• Third, on August 2, after the previous operation, Krasnogorsk anti-narcotics officers detained another employee of the Moscow branch of the store. He was found with 148 grams of amphetamine, and over 10,000 LSD tabs were discovered at his residence. The ministry noted that after receiving the drugs from St. Petersburg, he was supposed to repackage them for distribution in Moscow and the Moscow region. Despite this, he was not charged with attempted trafficking, but only with large-scale illegal possession (Article 228, Part 2), which carries up to 10 years in prison.
• Fourth, on August 14, another store employee was detained in northern Moscow. During a search, police seized 300 LSD tabs and 2.98 grams of mephedrone, qualifying his actions as attempted large-scale trafficking (Article 30, Part 3, and Article 228.1, Part 4, Clause “g”). Later, on August 29, two more “stashers” from the same store were detained, with 190 grams of amphetamine and 221 grams of “methamphetamine (pervitin)” seized; they were charged under the same article.

Did the MVD Really Shut Down RAMP?

In response to a request to explain the MVD’s role in shutting down RAMP—a platform hosting hundreds of illegal stores—the ministry only reported actions taken against three of them. None of the RAMP users interviewed by Mediazona recognized the names AS, LAMBO, or “Lamborghini.” There are also no stores with similar names on HYDRA, the marketplace where many RAMP vendors moved after its closure.