NSW Police will join forces with the US Secret Service to smash a blackmarket trade of guns, drugs and child pornography on the internet.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal a newly-created Fraud and Cybercrime Squad is involved in several "live investigations" into a new wave of online crime.
Detective Superintendent Colin Dyson, commander of the squad, confirmed he met with US Secret Service officials in Washington and said a number of "common targets" had been established between the two agencies.
"Firearms, drugs, credit card data are being sold on the internet in criminal marketplaces in Australia," Mr Dyson told The Sunday Telegraph. "There are buyers and sellers in Australia right now - but they're buying and selling with offenders over-seas. It's crucial that we develop partnerships with overseas jurisdictions."
He said NSW Police were planning to work with the agency and that a number of targets in NSW had already been identified.
Central to the underground market is the use of virtual currencies, which have the capacity to eliminate traditional money trails and provide users with anonymity.
This includes Bitcoins, a legitimate currency created in 2009 which has become "the currency of choice" among criminals because of its capacity to mask transactions and money transfers.
"A number of our investigations involve payment using some form of virtual currency - Bitcoins appear to be the currency of choice," Mr Dyson said. "It's favoured so much that it has its own market price.
"Its price varies according to how often it is being bought and sold."
NSW detectives have uncovered websites and marketplaces where prohibited items or services are on offer, the most well-known being the hidden platform Silk Road.
"Silk Road is just one of those marketplaces - there are many of them," he said.
Among the more concerning platforms are those advertising "assassin sites" where individuals can offer themselves up as "hitmen" for hire.
Mr Dyson said there had been no examples of assassin services in Australia, however it was an area being watched closely for developments
