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UK - Dark net drugs adverts 'double in less than a year'

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edgarshade

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BBC News

By Angus Crawford
31 July 2014

The number of listings offering illegal drugs for sale on the "dark net" appears to have more than doubled in less than a year, BBC News has learned. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) closed down the original online illegal drug market, Silk Road, in 2013. But new figures suggest the trade has actually increased since then. And other research indicates one in four British drug users has accessed hidden websites.

'Big problem'

In October 2013, there were 18,174 drugs listings across four main markets, according to the internet safety organisation Digital Citizens Alliance, based in the US. A recent trawl of the dark net by BBC News revealed there were now 43,175 listings across 23 markets. In this context, the term "dark net" refers to parts of the internet that cannot be reached easily unless specialised software is used. Its content is hidden from conventional search engines such as Google and Bing. Commonly used apps such as Instagram, WhatsApp and Evernote - whose content does not show up in search results either - are not covered by the term.

Britain's National Crime Agency recognises the drug trade on the dark net is a threat. "It's a big problem," says Caroline Young, deputy director of the NCA's Organised Crime Command. In our threat assessment we have cocaine and heroin as a high priority, and because it's cyber-enabled that makes it even more of a high priority."

However, she said the figures might be misleading. The numbers of vendors in the UK has reduced by 40%, each vendor may have more than one listing," she says.

One internet safety campaigner was concerned by the findings. "We still think the internet can be a wonderful tool for consumers and businesses, but we do worry good people and companies get caught up in the web spun by criminals and rogue operators," said Adam Benson, deputy executive director of Digital Citizens Alliance. That will slowly erode the trust and confidence we have in the internet."
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More...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28242662
 
Man what is this when people are too afraid to find a friend that is either a dealer or knows one? Way safer and cheaper and faster than someone you don't know posting an advert on the deep web. There's also the risk, if you're an idiot or maybe just unlucky, that instead of 10g of cannabis showing up, about 10 cops show up at your door.
 
BBC News
One internet safety campaigner was concerned by the findings. "We still think the internet can be a wonderful tool for consumers and businesses, but we do worry good people and companies get caught up in the web spun by criminals and rogue operators," said Adam Benson, deputy executive director of Digital Citizens Alliance. That will slowly erode the trust and confidence we have in the internet."
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Wow. Just wow. So this person really thinks that online drug sales are going to harm the reputation of the internet? That is simply hilarious. The internet is the greatest human enterprise ever, this trend isn't going to change that, only make it even better! And how exactly would 'good people and companies' get caught up in this? It's impossible to end up involved in the dark web unless you're trying to. It's not like taking a wrong turn on the way to the library. I wonder if he thinks formula 1 racing is undermining the public's confidence in our road system. His comments are embarrassing. 8)

The Network said:
Man what is this when people are too afraid to find a friend that is either a dealer or knows one? Way safer and cheaper and faster than someone you don't know posting an advert on the deep web. There's also the risk, if you're an idiot or maybe just unlucky, that instead of 10g of cannabis showing up, about 10 cops show up at your door.
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I have to disagree; the internet makes drugs safer and more accessible to many people. Reputation systems allow consumers to vouch for the purity/quality of a vendor's drugs. Additionally, buying drugs the traditional way, 'off-line', doesn't necessarily avoid the risk of being arrested. And remember, this online drugs black market is still in its infancy, it's only going to improve.

The internet is brilliantly subversive and exactly what we need to iron out this atrocious situation of drug prohibition.
 
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I disagree about the part where it still carries the same risk of getting arrested. If you know a couple people and don't buy your own drugs directly from a dealer, you have several layers of padding before they get to you. And if they're really good friends, they won't ever even consider ratting you to get out of jail time. Online, I'm not sure how people tend to do it, but I'm betting a lot of people use a home address or PO box, which are both easily traceable, a neighbor's address less so but still somewhat.

Internet, good place to buy some legal drugs, controversial or not, or a TV, or a computer, or do your grocery shopping. Illicit drug sales? Much easier to just find someone you're already friends with that can get you a source, even if it's slightly marked up. For most people that is. Obviously you can't just stroll into town and ask for an eightball if you live in the mountains in Idaho or something, so maybe the deep web would be good for something like that.
 
A lot of places in the world don't have specific drugs available, and even if they are, it can be very hard to track down certain drugs that only exist in specific circles or subcultures. On top of that, the darknet allows people to avoid the criminal aspect entirely, not putting up with wannabe gangsters and ''dealer time,'' and because listings have feedback, quality and delivery is assured to the even most marginally careful buyer. No more buying a gram, only to get home and find out you spent your money on 700mg of glucose or baking soda and 300mg of your drug of choice, or buying something that was supposed to be something else and getting sick (or dead). The tradeoff is the wait (although some would argue that this is a benefit, as it prevents regretful impulse buying) and dealing with the postal system.

There's obviously an enormous appeal, because otherwise these markets wouldn't be popping up faster than they're shutting down.
 
The Network said:
Man what is this when people are too afraid to find a friend that is either a dealer or knows one? Way safer and cheaper and faster than someone you don't know posting an advert on the deep web. There's also the risk, if you're an idiot or maybe just unlucky, that instead of 10g of cannabis showing up, about 10 cops show up at your door.
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Not everyone is a socialite. I'm not scared to track down dealers it's just time consuming and frustrating sometimes. It's much easier to get on a dark net site find exactly what you want and order it in minutes
 
What the FBI & govt should have realized is people will always find a way to get drugs, no matter how difficult.

If the govt would get their head out of their a**, they would legalize drugs & then open up their own websites promoting drugs & selling them online........

Imagine the money they can make from drug sales online & from drug stores through out the states.

The new generation does everything online. The younger crowd use their phones for absolutely everything & they do a lot of shopping online & spend a heck of a lot of time surfing the web.

The web caters to the kids growing up today & the drug market is just one more market who caters to them

Its the way of the future.....I'm.just waiting for the day the feds get totally involved with the internet. I read somewhere that in the not so distant future, you will have to scan your hand to enter/use the internet. They want to know exactly whose using the computer & exactly what sites you're going on to, etc.........
 
crimsonjunk said:
Not everyone is a socialite. I'm not scared to track down dealers it's just time consuming and frustrating sometimes. It's much easier to get on a dark net site find exactly what you want and order it in minutes
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Absolutely correct......& IMO, its more dangerous trying to hook up in the real world than online but you are far more likely to get ripped off online than the real world.

The web has gotten more policed ever since 9/11 & they use the scare tactics of terrorism to manipulate their way into everyone's business.
 
There was an unbelievable article a few months back about the darknet and online drugs sales. Some bullshit 'experts' were saying how dangerous it was as you could be getting 'anything'. Errr, that's the same as normal drug deals and if you buy from a street dealer, you don't have ready access to dozens of customer reviews!

The darknet is safer in almost all aspects, for all parties.
 
The Network said:
I disagree about the part where it still carries the same risk of getting arrested. If you know a couple people and don't buy your own drugs directly from a dealer, you have several layers of padding before they get to you. And if they're really good friends, they won't ever even consider ratting you to get out of jail time. Online, I'm not sure how people tend to do it, but I'm betting a lot of people use a home address or PO box, which are both easily traceable, a neighbor's address less so but still somewhat.
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Never use your neighbor's house or some abandoned one. If you are so paranoid about it get a hobo to rent out a PO box. You think the police are going to stake out a PO box for 200 dollars worth of drugs? Sending to a house that isn't yours only increases the chances you will never get it and it will get sent back to fake return address and then be undeliverable. Then it gets opened and the postmaster starts an investigation. Everyone gets heated out because of a stupid decision based on paranoia. I can point to lots of stories of people getting pulled over and having their lives ruined for a gram of pot. The only stories of people getting busted for drugs in the mail involve a large amount. There is no way this not safer.


The digital Citizens alliance seems like a weird front group. Seems they represent a bunch of special interests like Hollywood and drug companies while making it sound like they represent their actual name. This quote from their page is scary:

"Freedom, whether in our online communities or in our local neighborhoods, does not mean living without rules and without accountability to other members of the community. There is a word for that: anarchy."
 
It was very clearly stated by many people that the end of Silk Road would result in this.

Either narcotics law enforcement is overwhelmed, or it seems like they don't take these sort of things seriously for some reason.

Well, it's a reality now, cheers.
 
ro4eva said:
It was very clearly stated by many people that the end of Silk Road would result in this.

Either narcotics law enforcement is overwhelmed, or it seems like they don't take these sort of things seriously for some reason.

Well, it's a reality now, cheers.
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I think maybe they've finally developed a few milligrams of common sense and realized that shutting down one market is just going to open another.

hydra_hercule.gif
 
ro4eva said:
It was very clearly stated by many people that the end of Silk Road would result in this.
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Every snake the DNMs run into seem to lead to another ladder to beyond that point. The death of SR1 spawned the decentralisation of the market amongst different websites, making it even harder to keep track of for governments and so on, and the escrow hacks have led to the push towards multi-sig, which with Electrum and likely others supposedly working on a decent GUI for, may pick up steam again and make situations like the FBI SR1 fund thievery less likely to happen again. Beyond making examples, it seems that police enforcement of the DNMs is unlikely to ever completely 'stop' their growth.
 
Consenting adults will always find a way to obtain whatever contraband they want regardless of law enforcement, social convention, or user agreements. I admire the management skills of DTO's and the Dark Web. I do not admire the unintended consequences that may follow.
 
^ My issue with 'narcotics' law enforcement in every first world western nation is that their best efforts to control the flow of controlled substances in their borders has never resulted in any significant, long term results. And in the process, the lives of countless otherwise law-abiding individuals have been ruined, and trillions tax payer dollars/pounds/euros have been utterly wasted, when instead they could have been put to far better use.
 
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