AlphaBay

Seized market First seen Sep 1, 2014 Last checked Jul 20, 2017

The largest darknet market of its era, taken down in July 2017 in a coordinated US-Europol action (Operation Bayonet). Founder Alexandre Cazes was arrested in Thailand.

History

Jul 20, 2017 seizure Operation Bayonet shuts AlphaBay down
US and Europol authorities announced the takedown of AlphaBay on 20 July 2017 under Operation Bayonet.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/alphabay-largest-online-dark-market-shut-down https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/massive-blow-to-criminal-dark-web-activities-after-globally-coordinated-operation
Jul 12, 2017 milestone Founder Alexandre Cazes found dead in Thai custody
Alexandre Cazes, arrested in Bangkok on 5 July 2017, was found dead in his cell on 12 July 2017.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/alphabay-largest-online-dark-market-shut-down
Dec 22, 2014 launch AlphaBay officially launches
After a late-2014 pre-launch, AlphaBay opened fully and rapidly grew to become the largest darknet market.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaBay