Finnish Police Identify Nearly 400 Suspects in Darknet Imageboard Investigation
Between October 9 and October 29, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation identified 396 suspected criminals during an investigation into the “Onion Channel,” one of Finland’s darknet imageboards. Known as “Sipulkanava,” the site operated like a typical imageboard, but over time, users began creating threads for the sale of narcotics, weapons, and documents.
On November 1, Finnish police and customs authorities managed to temporarily take down the site using a DDoS attack and replaced the homepage with a warning banner. Despite the takedown, police were unable to obtain any internal information about specific users or details of the ongoing police operation.
“Some steps have been taken in the last 24 hours (to identify users), but at this stage, we are not commenting further,” said customs inspector Hannu Sinkkonen in a statement regarding both the Onion Channel and the Valhalla market. (Note: The Valhalla market was not included in this law enforcement operation, but the two sites are often mentioned together.)
Ultimately, the National Bureau of Investigation identified 396 suspected users of the Onion Channel imageboard. Of these, only 116 are believed to have been flagged for illegal drug trafficking. The remaining suspects were either involved in other criminal activities or used the Onion Channel entirely legally. Many experienced users quickly regrouped on the clearnet version of the site to demonstrate their legal use of the imageboard.
Police Departments Monitored Suspect Activity in Their Regions
The police press release provided detailed information about the locations of some suspects. The Helsinki Police Department reported 20 suspects; the HοΏ½me Police Department reported 20; the Eastern Finland Police Department reported 17; the Finnish Police Board reported 85; the Southwest Finland Police Department reported 52; and the Lapland Police Department reported 28. During the three-week investigation, police detained 199 suspects for questioning. They charged and arrested 86 users for drug-related crimes and imprisoned 19 individuals.
Most of the suspects were young people born in the 1990s. After a series of arrests, the Finnish police seized the following:
- 2.7 kg of amphetamine
- 500 grams of methamphetamine
- 1,500 ecstasy tablets
- 3.6 kg of marijuana
- Over 300 opioid substitution medications
- 2,500 clonazepam tablets
- Four firearms
- ?30,000 in cash
The police press release also noted that the increased availability of drugs online has forced law enforcement to adapt and adopt new tactics for both online and in-person investigations. The Finnish police plan to use this experience as a “best practice” in other parts of the country and potentially beyond.