BANGKOK — American authorities say a 25-year-old Canadian man accused of masterminding the world's leading "darknet" internet marketplace has hanged himself in his jail cell.
Thai police say Alexandre Cazes died in their custody July 12, just before a scheduled court hearing.
Cazes is accused of creating AlphaBay, an online marketplace that authorities say traded in illegal drugs, firearms and counterfeit goods.
Authorities say they have sought the forfeiture of Cazes' properties in Thailand, bank accounts and four vehicles, including a Lamborghini and a Porsche.
They say the Canadian man amassed a fortune of $23 million with the creation of AlphaBay in 2014.
The site, which Europol estimates did $1 billion in business, went offline July 5 after Cazes's arrest in Thailand.
In Washington on Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the operation to shut down AlphaBay was the largest darknet marketplace takedown in history.
Darknet vendors are "pouring fuel on the fire of the national drug epidemic," he said, specifically citing cases of two U.S. teenagers killed this year, one a 13-year-old Utah boy, by overdoses of synthetic opioids purchased on AlphaBay.
