Seventeen people have been arrested in a series of co-ordinated raids on underground websites selling illegal drugs, a top Europol official said yesterday, in one of the largest crackdowns on the so-called ‘darknet’ to date.

Seventeen people have been arrested so far in an international crackdown on underground websites selling illegal drugs, a senior Europol official said.

Taking on cyber criminals on the ‘dark net’ requires new expertise and cross-border laws given that it is too big a battle for any one police force, writes European Correspondent Ann Cahill.

The rape-to-order of children online, the hacking of customs to hide illegal drugs shipments, cloned cards stealing €45m in two hours — the new world of clever crime is outlined in the first report of the EU’s cybercrime centre.