The operator of the suspected world's largest illegal marketplace on the darknet, the DarkMarket", said prosecutors.

"Investigators were able to shut down the marketplace and turn off the server on Monday," they said, calling it the culmination of a month-long international operation.

According to the prosecutors, at least 320,000 transactions were carried out via DarkMarket, with more than 17,450 bitcoin and 12,800 monero – two common cryptocurrencies. At current exchange rates, that represented a yield of 140 million euros.

The Australian believed to be the DarkMarket operator was arrested near the German-Danish border, and more than 20 servers used by the site in Moldova and Ukraine were seized.

"Investigators expect to use the data saved there to launch new probes against the moderators, sellers and buyers of the marketplace," prosecutors cited.

The American FBI and police from Australia, Britain, Denmark, Switzerland, Ukraine, and Moldova unitedly took part in the investigation.

According to the German prosecutors, DarkMarket came to light while investigating the Dutch web-hosting service Cyberbunker, which was suspected of being a haven for cybercrime and spam. German authorities said Cyberbunker had hosted DarkMarket for an unspecified time.

The darknet consists of websites that can be accessed only with specific software or authorizations and it ensures and prioritizes the anonymity of its users.