What agencies have not shown their hand yet in 'Operation Bayonet'?

I am writing this (from a throwaway account for obvious reasons) because I see a lot of speculation on the DNM situation and not a lot of it very intelligent or productive to be honest.

I thought I would put in my observations. Feel free to add commentary or point out anything you disagree with.

As we can see from the Europol press release and the seizure banner of Hansa the name of this operation is 'Operation Bayonet'.

We can also see the agencies involved in this operation.

Here are some links that provide us with info:

Link 1 - Europol Press Release: https://web.archive.org/web/20170722091820/https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/massive-blow-to-criminal-dark-web-activities-after-globally-coordinated-operation

This link outlines the operation.

Link 2 - Picture of Alex Cazes aka 'Alpha02' property seizure by Thai LE https://d1rktuf34l9h2g.cloudfront.net/3/3d/3d65c999_S__4153765.jpeg

We can see in the background a 'Operation Bayonet' banner. Some of the flags are covered by peoples heads but we can clearly see from left to right a Thai flag, a Dutch flag, a Canadian Flag and a Lithuanian Flag

Link 3 Alphabay Seizure Banner: https://anonimage.net/image/tJk3laH6G0

Top row left to right
1: DOJ (US)
2: FBI (US)
3: DEA (US)
 
Agencies pictured bottom row from top left and downward
 
1: Politie Nederland (NL)
2: Royal Thai Police (Thai)
3: Europol (Joint EU)
4: Royal Thai Police (Thai)
5: Lietuvos Policija / Lithuanian Police (LT / Lithuania)
6: ? (US)
7: Department of Treasury (US)
8: National Crime Agency (UK)
9: RCMP (CA)
10: ? (I cannot make out this one due to poor picture quality. Can anyone help?)
 
 

Link 4:
Hansa Seizure Banner:
Agencies pictured from top left and downward https://anonimage.net/image/6JtXYSrvXi  
1: Openbaar Ministerie (NL)
2: Politie Nederland (NL)
3: Europol (Joint EU)
4: Hesse State Police / Hessische Polizei (DE)
5: Bundeskriminalam / Federal Criminal Police Office (DE)
6: Lietuvos Policija / Lithuanian Police (LT / Lithuania)
7: FBI (US)
8: DEA (US)
 
From what I can piece together LE from these countries are involved in this operation and we know what they have been up to
 
US (FBI, DEA others):
Large involvement in co-ordination of the operation and resources
 
Thai:
Cazes aka 'Alpha02' was aressted in Thailand
 
Canadian:
Cazes aka 'Alpha02'was a Canadian citizen
 
Mainly Hansa related:
 
Dutch:
General l337'ness and doing most of the technical side of the operation.
 
Lithuanian:
The servers of Hansa were based in Lithuania.
 
German:
The servers of Hansa were based in Germany originally when they were discovered and the admins were located there
 
Private:
Cyber security firm Bitdefender also worked on this operation in unknown capacity
 

The following countries we know are involved in this operation but do not yet not know how:

National Crime Agency (UK): Source - Alphabay banner

France (unknown agency):

France is referenced in a few materials but not everywhere or on the banners. This makes me suspect they are currently trying to keep their involvement quiet but some people may have dropped the ball. 'Ctrl F' France to find the references.

Reference to France 1 - Bitdefender blog: https://web.archive.org/web/20170721133539/https://hotforsecurity.bitdefender.com/blog/alphabay-and-hansa-taken-down-in-international-bust-18506.html

Reference to France 2 - Justice Department Press Release ('Ctrl F' French) https://web.archive.org/web/20170721030840/https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/alphabay-largest-online-dark-market-shut-down

This makes me suspect something may happen in the UK and France shortly and we have not seen their hand yet.

However I could be reading too much into all this and it may be that the UK and France only played a minor role in this operation so have only been given a small amount of credit.

A quick explanation of who I am before you all make assumptions:

I am someone who is involved in information security with allegiances best described as grey hat. I am not involved in DNM's nor am I involved with LE. I am just an individual who finds this whole thing very interesting and I thought I would post here because I found most of the analysis and info here to be very poor quality

TL;DR

I believe their may be parts of this operation that have not yet occurred in the UK and France and people based in those countries should be very cautious.

However I may be over analyzing and I welcome input from the community


Comments


[13 Points] endedbytheknife:

your imgur links are broken; please use other image hosters instead of imgur for this sub.


[5 Points] TheOnlyFaroesian:

Mossad


[4 Points] Inthewirelain:

Warning: Somewhat wall of text ahead with a decent amount of possibilities and theories, and some summarisations. It is certainly ramble in places, but I hope there are at least a few good or interesting points in it and maybe some discussion. It's speed driven (sulphate, not meth) so bare that in mind when you think this is getting on a bit now :P

You also forgot the Ministry of Truth for making us believe the Cases was dead (I would hope at least a large amount of here would catch the reference.... a lot of the rest you would probably be like ohhh if I said what it was too! very relevant to us here on DNM, society at large and where it could go...)

I kid, other than the choice of department, at least in part. Seems likely now he did kill himself. I find it hard to believe someone so wanted bt the US wouldn't be watched round the clock because of this so either: guards were lazy, they were corrupted by Alex, they were almost beyond impossibly incompetent and tried to save him and failed or the most conspiracy, but least likely due to the sat they'd get off worldwide but especially US authorities: he was killed during interrogation. If this is true, they will probably want you to believe it was a freak accident as they tried some just about legal stuff to get him to spill the beans.... but it would probably be because, and especially as it's the Thai police, they killed him trying to get access to the coins. Or super tinfoil: the Russian higher ups other than alpha02 killed him.

I find it odd. This guy is so scared of the police and US extradition, but he kills himself a day after capture. Being involved in the hacking and carding community through the years, he must have known the risks - at the very least as he started to really grow, it must have become evident or he was taught it. So yeah, he's this shit scared, knowing whats coming for a long time with his almost inevitable arrest. So what he does is found, or at least co found, a DNM and keep it going even when it got sooo big?

Here's some more tinfoil, but plausible. The welcome e-mail came from the forum, right? We do not know the date, but we know in 2014 when AlphaBay launched. It is mentioned almost in the same breath where they mentioned a few weeks after the market, the forums opened.

So here's the tinfoil bit. It's hard to think that starting in 2014, with all the publicity around Rosses arrest, such a basic mistake could be made. Even more especially as it would be super fresh in our minds, the sort docs not long being out and this being all over forbes, wired, gawker etc... for a market at least.

Like I said, it's pretty confirmed Alex had a presence in a lot of communities, including MensRights kinds of places, hacking forums and (mainly card, also PayPal etc) fraud. So...

So here comes the theory. Maybe Alex was to set up some sort of black hat, hacking, fraud or another similar topic community.... maybe a forum. It's silly to put his real address here but he's much less likely of a target and not as demonised in the media, be much easier to get off easy. However, his mates on the forum convince him how they could create such a general great darkness. Merge drugs weapons and fraud. Cool, right?

tinfoil bits for these: maybe Alex couldn't believe he was set up, or that he really was caught due to his Ross moment. Maybe they discussed that given the threat of US extradition, suicide should be a real option.

mega tinfoil: maybe if there is a Russian influence and they are as high up as those in cybercrime in the Russian Mafia by bt extension the Russian government, and they arranged for the Thais to bump him off. Like I said, this bit is mega tinfoil. However there have been some cases of cybercrime rings being almost directly linked to high up officials or very, very close family of theirs. Like the head of Russian cybercrime having a son who runs oe of the biggest fraud rings in Russia.... but they don't touch Russians, so it's not even used as blackmail against this politician. They just get kickbacks they share with their complicit friends

I've had a speed heavy day, trying now to come down with bars and opts so i can get at least 3 and a half, 4 hours before another 12 days out the house and 4 hours cleaning when I get home. Looking more like 2 and a half, 3 hours and another speed heavy day instead at the mo tho :P Most of them not very plausible, most of them really.... but I think a lot of them are possible to certain degrees, especially with a few small edits. But I hope you somewhat enjoyed y long ramblings, ideas and possibilities. Should you find none, some or all plausible or ridiculous :)

The simpler explanations though I do feel beg for some sort of corroboration and proof that LEs story is at all true. There is one other thing t bear in mind, alpha02 supposedly left AB around the time supposed leaks came from her host revealing an identity. Again, fraud community. Probably fake. But did he leave? If so, because he was afraid they would get close? Because he's an amateur and that stolen ID can somehow be linked to him? He's on camera using it on an ATM, or its someone he knows in real life where the link was too close for comfort, so he left.


[2 Points] DeepMobisRetardedAF:

Felt similarly, in-fact was just thinking if their was countries involved with no seen reason yet the past couple days....

@ /r/DNMUK we present you, /u/AchlysUK and the death of HBB/UKB

it was fun boys, I look forward to the next generation of kingpins just don't go around flairing the king title. The feds hate that XanaxBoss/AlpraKing


[2 Points] MuchoLoco:

Atlanta FBI . One of the main forces in this case for whatever reason


[2 Points] None:

[deleted]


[1 Points] divinesnake:

Is probable. Could be related to vendors/admins yet unknown.


[1 Points] chocolatemilk79:

Interpol


[1 Points] None:

who would of thought Lithuania even had LE