The raid followed arrests of suspects across the UK and abroad, linked to a website called Darkode.com.

The forum advertised products and services used by fraudsters around the world. Material liked to the site was taken away for examination, although there were no arrests.

The website has now been dismantled after an international law enforcement operation, the National Crime agency said.

As reported in The Herald newspaper, the exclusive website only allowed those deemed to have the right levels of cyber and criminal expertise access to the website, which was taken offline on Monday.

During the raid, 28 arrests were made around the world, bringing the total number of people arrested for suspected offences linked to the site to 70 across 20 countries.

US Attorney David Hickton, in announcing the charges in Pittsburgh, called Darkode “A cyber hornet’s nest for criminal hackers”.

“Of the roughly 800 criminal internet forums worldwide, Darkode represented one of the gravest threats to integrity of data on computers in the United States,” he said.

The FBI and US attorney’s office in Pittsburgh led the investigation known as Operation Shrouded Horizon.

It included authorities from Europol and 20 countries in Europe and Latin America as well as Israel, Nigeria and Australia.

A 26-year-old man from Coventry was arrested by the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit.

He was questioned and subsequently bailed pending further inquiries, the NCA said.

Steven Laval, senior investigating officer at the national cyber Crime Unit, said: “This has been a truly global operation, targeting both the infastructure of an online hub for high-end cyber crime, and suspected members of its criminal community.

“Despite the exclusive nature of Darkode and the technical skills of its users, this action shows once again that we can identify and pursue those we believe are seeking to offend through an apparently secure online environment, far removed from their victims.

“The NCA continues to work with partners in the UK and around the world to combat international cyber crime.” Darkode was used by cybercriminals to trade stolen data as well as hacking and spam tools and services, and methods for cyber attacks on governments and companies.

Only those who were invited were able to use the website which was hidden under protected servers.

The darkode.com website showed logos of various law enforcement agencies and a notice saying the domain had been seized by the FBI last Wednesday.

Those charged are accused of crimes including conspiring to commit computer fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, selling and using malware programmes that could steal data from computers and cell phones, and using “bot” networks to take over computers for the purpose of sending spam emails.