Understanding Darknet Drugs
The term darknet drugs refers to illegal substances that are traded via clandestine online marketplaces accessible only through specific software. These drugs range from common recreational substances to more dangerous, synthetic variations.
How the Darknet Operates
In a sting operation, British authorities intercepted a parcel containing 11,000 tablets of Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) with a street value of £80,000. Lai Lan was apprehended at Gatwick airport in June 2017, attempting to board a one-way flight to South Africa. In our previous Russian darknet focused blog post, we discussed some of the tools and techniques the Russians were discussing and using in offensive cyber operations against US and international organizations. Our research collected product listings and forum posts from 10 anonymous online market places and 6 forums. Our study determined the underground marketplace and forum list based on darknet site search engines and previous research works [20].
The darknet is part of the internet that is not indexed by traditional search engines. It requires specific tools, such as the Tor browser, to access. This anonymity allows users to engage in illegal activities, including the buying and selling of drugs.
Types of Drugs Available on the Darknet
Before the United Kingdom, where he lives, banned “legal highs” in 2016, he would purchase spice, mephedrone, kratom, salvia and psychedelics from specialty websites. He began doing this after the law cracked down on brick-and-mortar headshops. To this day, he still orders nitrous oxide from cream charger companies.
They were able to match vendor accounts to individuals selling illicit goods on other marketplaces, some still active and some not. The results of the sting, called Operation Dark HunTor, followed the takedown in January of DarkMarket, at the time the world’s largest online marketplace for illicit goods, located in an encrypted and relatively hidden corner of the internet. As Hydra did, many of these markets have continued the tradition of including drug harm reduction information for drug buyers, such as providing drug testing and medical advice. “The RuTor forum has launched a series of webinars on medical topics, including first aid and overdose scenarios,” said Aleksey Lakhov, of St. Petersburg-based drug project Drugmap.ru. As of October 2022, the largest volume of drugs purchased at two large marketplaces – BlackSprut and Mega – were for cathinones such as mephedrone and alpha-PVP.
- The year of 2021 has seen the rise of alternative social media platforms.
- Holding payment in escrow often has the added benefit of “tumbling” or “mixing” digital currency; this is a form of money laundering that severs the connection between a cryptocurrency address sending coins and the address to which they are sent.
- Police also took out a vital part of the dark web’s infrastructure, the information and review site Deepdotweb.com, arresting two suspected administrators in May in France and Israel, and seizing €7.5 million (£6.7 million) in bitcoins.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access. When this information exchange happens on several different applications, it creates fragmentation and stretches the ability of law enforcement to track everything and proceed to arrests. “The mobile apps provide the ability to transfer details about successful drug orders, and they can also send geographical coordinates of the “package” left by the courier for further pick-up,” explains Resecurity in the report. All seven of the above use the same M-Club CMS engine to build their APKs, so they likely used the same developer services.
Numerous drugs can be purchased on the darknet, commonly categorized as follows:
- Cannabis: Often sold in various strains and forms.
- Stimulants: Includes drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine.
- Depressants: Such as opioids and benzodiazepines.
- Synthetic Drugs: New psychoactive substances like synthetic cannabinoids and bath salts.
Man Charged In US For Running ‘Monopoly’ Darknet Drug Market
2022 saw a decline in revenue from the previous year for darknet markets and fraud shops. Total darknet market revenue for 2022 ended at $1.5 billion, down from $3.1 billion in 2021. Over the last year, “Alex,” the drug dealer from Moscow, said a new genre of content has been growing on Russian Telegram profiles. But Russians fleeing the country since the war have still been able to buy drugs on the dark web.
In some cases, the drug is heavily diluted with fillers and marketed as cocaine, heroin, or meth, or it is sold in pill form as oxycodone. Pure fentanyl may also be laced into other drugs in order to increase the potency. Four of the top five highest-earning darknet markets in 2022 were conventional, drug-focused darknet markets, while just one, Brian Dumps, was a fraud shop.
As well as drugs, a host of other illegal products and services are for sale, including forged documents, secret foreign bank accounts, money laundering services, hacking techniques, phishing and spam tools, anonymous mail drops and weapons. We trained the semantic comparison model using the traces of Reddit as the benign corpora and the traces of the anonymous marketplaces/forums as the underground corpora. Thus, we identified 58 opioid jargon used in the anonymous marketplaces and forums (Table 2). Combining opioid jargon with known opioid product names [25-27], we generated an opioid keyword data set consisting of 311 opioid keywords with 13 categories. We manually validated all keywords and the corresponding categories to guarantee their correctness.
Risks of Purchasing Darknet Drugs
While the darknet may offer a seemingly convenient way to acquire drugs, there are significant risks involved:
- Legal Consequences: Buying or selling darknet drugs can lead to severe legal penalties.
- Quality Control: There is no regulation, so the actual content and potency of substances can vary widely.
- Scams: Many users fall victim to fraudulent listings, resulting in lost money and no goods.
- Health Risks: Consuming unknown substances can lead to serious health complications, including overdose.
FAQs About Darknet Drugs
What is the most common drug purchased on the darknet?
The most commonly purchased drugs include cannabis, cocaine, and various synthetic substances.
Can law enforcement track darknet transactions?
Yes, although it is challenging, law enforcement agencies employ techniques to track and identify illegal activities on the darknet.
How do users ensure their safety on the darknet?
Some users employ measures like using cryptocurrency for anonymity, employing VPNs, and carefully checking seller reputations to mitigate risks.
Conclusion
While the darknet drugs market provides an avenue for acquiring illicit substances, the associated risks—ranging from legal issues to health dangers—are profound. Users should weigh these risks carefully and consider the broader implications of participating in such activities.
