Misc Are darknet markets worth it?

[3DQSAR]

A friend showed me one of the dark web sites offering all manner of psychotrpic compounds.

I concluded that while it's GOT to be safer than buying such items from shady dealers, I'm also aware that they are not as anonymous as they claim to be. I know at least one BLer whose house was raided because their order had been tracked. I'm pretty sure at least one dark web market had actually been set up by a government agency tasked with controlling prohibited chemicals.

I believe that since the amounts involved were tiny and the fact that they were not narcotics, it was made clear that pleading guilty would only result in a fine. Now under UK law, I think it likely that whomever set up the fake site were themselves guilty of inchoate offences i.e. the offence only took place BECAUSE the site made it possible.

In fact, it strikes me that very few buyers in the UK ever plead not guilty and fight the allegations against them. Because if they did, a defence council would quite reasonably ask how a warrant was obtained to open the person's mail in the first place.

If you live in a nation where only named compounds are legally controlled, I would consider looking for compounds that are still legal.

 

[Ismene2]

Is that how you got caught? I can't stand these neighborhood watch arseholes. I've had neighbors call the police on me for vaping weed in my own garden before but nothing came of it fortunately.

Still stressful and demoralizing. If there's a problem just knock on my door and talk to me I mean geez it's 2024 people weed.

No I was just joking.

 

[Phobos]

I know at least one BLer whose house was raided because their order had been tracked.

Was it a tiny order or something more juicy like 2 ounces of something?
Basically, could it have been enough to possibly charge him with possession with intent to distribute, or did they go after him for couple of grams?

 

[Ismene2]

A friend showed me one of the dark web sites offering all manner of psychotrpic compounds.

I concluded that while it's GOT to be safer than buying such items from shady dealers, I'm also aware that they are not as anonymous as they claim to be. I know at least one BLer whose house was raided because their order had been tracked. I'm pretty sure at least one dark web market had actually been set up by a government agency tasked with controlling prohibited chemicals.

I believe that since the amounts involved were tiny and the fact that they were not narcotics, it was made clear that pleading guilty would only result in a fine. Now under UK law, I think it likely that whomever set up the fake site were themselves guilty of inchoate offences i.e. the offence only took place BECAUSE the site made it possible.

In fact, it strikes me that very few buyers in the UK ever plead not guilty and fight the allegations against them. Because if they did, a defence council would quite reasonably ask how a warrant was obtained to open the person's mail in the first place.

If you live in a nation where only named compounds are legally controlled, I would consider looking for compounds that are still legal.

But if the house is clean and you've left no written evidence then where's the crime? Drugs addressed to you in an envelope? So what? If that was a crime I'd post drugs to the bloke who my girlfriend ran off with and watch him get jailed for ten years.

 

[3DQSAR]

The entire thing was suspicious.

As I understand it, they were looking for personal amounts of several then-novel tryptamine derivatives. I mean 1 gram or less of each.

They didn't even search the BLers home! They simply asked where the compounds were and when it was handed over, performed an arrest and left. It makes me wonder if they even had a search warrant.

As you say, anyone could theoretically just post controlled substances to another person but unless the prosecution can demonstrate mens rea, it's not a crime.

But it's amazing just how few people have EVER pleaded not guilty to charges deriving from the Novel Psychoactive Compounds Act. I checked and could find only three examples.

The term 'Novel' is an immediate issue. IF a compound appeared in a paper or patent published before the act was passed in 2014, can a compound be said to be novel? The term 'Psychoactive' is also dubious given that even nutmeg is well known to be psychedelic in high enough doses. Yet nutmeg isn't controlled.

So it's only the word 'Act' that has any specific legal definition...

 

[Shinji Ikari]

No I was just joking.

That's exactly what a man with a garden full of drugs and corpses would say.

 

[Ismene2]

That's exactly what a man with a garden full of drugs and corpses would say.

It's not like I'm out in the garden at midnight in my underpants digging up more drugs. I made sure the spot is out of sight of any windows - what do you think I am? An amateur?

I remember buyring a 1 litre tub of GHL - then I forgot where I'd buried it. Found a likely spot and sank the shovel in and heard a terrible sound of GHL glugging into soil.

 

[3DQSAR]

It's not like I'm out in the garden at midnight in my underpants digging up more drugs. I made sure the spot is out of sight of any windows - what do you think I am? An amateur?

I remember buyring a 1 litre tub of GHL - then I forgot where I'd buried it. Found a likely spot and sank the shovel in and heard a terrible sound of GHL glugging into soil.

I've known a few people who have gardens full of lost stashes. I suppose it makes sense. If THEY don't know where the stuff is, it's unlikely to be detected by any effort made by law enforcement officers.

It's daft to prefer charges for the simple possession of a chemical. A criminal record is much more likely to result in long term harm than the chemical itself.

 

[Ismene2]

I've known a few people who have gardens full of lost stashes. I suppose it makes sense. If THEY don't know where the stuff is, it's unlikely to be detected by any effort made by law enforcement officers.

It's daft to prefer charges for the simple possession of a chemical. A criminal record is much more likely to result in long term harm than the chemical itself.

John Lennon did - before he went to India he buried his stash in the garden because his mother in law would've flushed it. When he came back he couldn't find it. They found the case buried in the garden when renovating it 50 years later.

 

[3DQSAR]

John Lennon did - before he went to India he buried his stash in the garden because his mother in law would've flushed it. When he came back he couldn't find it. They found the case buried in the garden when renovating it 50 years later.

I think I read about it. Didn't the suitcase fetch £125,000 to anonymous phone bidder when it was auctioned at Boham's back in 2011?

 

[Bleaney]

I recently found that more hurdles and hoops have been put in place to make crypto payments a little more complicated or far less privacy focussed.. Or at least requiring extra steps. One of the bigger exchanges now require full details about where any BTC is being transferred to, since the end of 2024 I believe.

So now you cant just buy and send BTC. It seeems that you now either have to use a different currency or transfer the funds from one wallet to another before you can send.

It doesn't seem like it will be an insurmountable problem to get around, it's just that I don't have the patience or the right frame of mind right just now to take the time to learn what I'll have to do instead.

Any potential transactions will now have to wait.

God damn Changes all of the time. Forever Changes indeed. Nothing stays the same. The only constant is change.

 

[GulpingBatteryLiquid]

Just say you're transferring to a personal wallet for investment purposes, you should be transferring to a personal wallet anyway rather than sending from exchange > darkweb drug site

I did notice that its pretty much impossible to buy BTC without ID now. Changenow used to sell you bitcoin with no KYC but it doesn't seem like they allow you to buy with GDP anymore

This is a pain because I lost my wallet with my provisional in and my passport is lost somewhere in my house, and it's out of date

 

[Shinji Ikari]

I recently found that more hurdles and hoops have been put in place to make crypto payments a little more complicated or far less privacy focussed.. Or at least requiring extra steps. One of the bigger exchanges now require full details about where any BTC is being transferred to, since the end of 2024 I believe.

So now you cant just buy and send BTC. It seeems that you now either have to use a different currency or transfer the funds from one wallet to another before you can send.

It doesn't seem like it will be an insurmountable problem to get around, it's just that I don't have the patience or the right frame of mind right just now to take the time to learn what I'll have to do instead.

Any potential transactions will now have to wait.

God damn Changes all of the time. Forever Changes indeed. Nothing stays the same. The only constant is change.

Aye true enough, but Bitcoin has been yesterday's jam for a while now and most major markets only accept monero/xmr which actually is anonymous (until proven otherwise).

Most (all?) KYC exchanges in the UK no longer list XMR but you can buy Bitcoin or Litecoin (lower fees) from them, withdraw it and exchange it for XMR elsewhere which is easier than it sounds and the trail goes cold there at which point where you choose to invest your crypto is your business alone

 

[GulpingBatteryLiquid]

Forcing Monero use is annoying and unnecessary for 99% of users. If you're buying drugs wholesale it's probably wise, but nobody is going to check the blockchain to catch someone buying 1g of weed

Even with bitcoin, you can just send it to a personal wallet, then send the bitcoin to another personal wallet, then send the bitcoin from the 2nd wallet to the DNM, then delete all evidence of the bitcoin wallets from your computer using Eraser

I have no experience with Tails, but couldn't you also use that to download a bitcoin wallet onto there, and as soon as you pull the USB stick all evidence of the wallet is gone?

 

[Shinji Ikari]

Forcing Monero use is annoying and unnecessary for 99% of users. If you're buying drugs wholesale it's probably wise, but nobody is going to check the blockchain to catch someone buying 1g of weed

Even with bitcoin, you can just send it to a personal wallet, then send the bitcoin to another personal wallet, then send the bitcoin from the 2nd wallet to the DNM, then delete all evidence of the bitcoin wallets from your computer using Eraser

Just because you can get by with shitty opsec doesn't mean you should.

Read the DMN Bible; Learn how to use tails learn how to use XMR and learn how to use PGP will always be my advice. It's a little work for a whole lot of peace of mind.

Lets call it digital harm reduction

 

[4DQSAR]

The thing to remember is if you don't know where a vendor is based, if a package is seized, what crime has the buyer committed? Not importation because that would require mens rea.

That is why the UK police allow stuff to be delivered FIRST. They do seize stuff and buyers get a letter asking them to pick it up (a bad plan) but overall, buying peronal amounts is much safer than buying off the street.

Whatever else, if you believe in Utilitarianism as the most appropriate philosophical model, taking down markets is a bad plan - it only causes MORE harm.

 

[GulpingBatteryLiquid]

It's near impossible to buy XMR in the UK, hell it's even difficult to get BTC so you can't even get BTC and swap for XMR

I can understand going full on with the opsec if you live in Saudi Arabia or Singapore or some shit. But the worst that will happen to me in the UK is that I'll get a love letter from customs, unless I'm buying wholesale

I'm not saying other people should be lax. But I don't mind taking calculated risks myself.

 

[Shinji Ikari]

I have no experience with Tails, but couldn't you also use that to download a bitcoin wallet onto there, and as soon as you pull the USB stick all evidence of the wallet is gone

The wallet is immaterial, every single transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain can be traced to point of origin. Disposing of the wallet doesn't dispose of evidence of anything.

s near impossible to buy XMR in the UK, hell it's even difficult to get BTC so you can't even get BTC and swap for XMR

It isn't though. Buy BTC/LTC from centralized exchange. Withdraw to cake wallet, exchange for XMR within app. Done. Takes a few minutes.

And yes you need ID if you want to purchase crypto with fiat in the UK which is annoying. It's been that way for years though and exchanging for XMR after the fact breaks the chain connecting that crypto to your identity.

I'm not saying other people should be lax. But I don't mind taking calculated risks myself

Well, you did say it was unnecessary for 99% of users. That depends on your perspective.

Personally I can't even stand my own cats watching me when I'm taking a piss so on point of principle I'm not comfortable with my full name, address, and drug preferences along with proof of purchase being made available to the pigs. Even if I'm not worth arresting I do not want them having access to that information.

So for me these measures are necessary. I imagine a lot of people using these forums would feel the same way but it is as you say an each to their own calculate your own risk kind of situation.

Sorry for the ramble!

 

[GulpingBatteryLiquid]

The wallet is immaterial, every single transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain can be traced to point of origin. Disposing of the wallet doesn't dispose of evidence of anything.

If you remove all traces of the 2nd wallet from your PC there's no evidence that the second wallet is yours. Maybe your friend offered to buy BTC from you for cash in hand

It isn't though. Buy BTC/LTC from centralized exchange. Withdraw to cake wallet, exchange for XMR within app. Done. Takes a few minutes.

And yes you need ID if you want to purchase crypto with fiat in the UK which is annoying. It's been that way for years though and exchanging for XMR after the fact breaks the chain connecting that crypto to your identity.

I could buy XMR and BTC without ID a handful of months ago. I don't want to spend £70 on a passport right now

Well, you did say it was unnecessary for 99% of users. That depends on your perspective.

Personally I can't even stand my own cats watching me when I'm taking a piss so on point of principle I'm not comfortable with my full name, address, and drug preferences along with proof of purchase being made available to the pigs. Even if I'm not worth arresting I do not want them having access to that information.

So for me these measures are necessary. I imagine a lot of people using these forums would feel the same way but it is as you say an each to their own calculate your own risk kind of situation.

Sure, if you're worried about getting caught , follow the precautions.. I am not worried about buying chickemfeed amounts of drugs UK>UK. If other people are worried, or if they're buying large amounts, sure, use the precautions

Sorry for the ramble!

No worry fam you made good points

Edit: Sorry this post is badly formatted, if a mod could sort it out, I'd be very grateful

Mod edit: There is no escaping quoteception.

 

[4DQSAR]

I don't know about anywhere else but in the UK we still have gold coins. Thing is, the face values are vastly lower than the value of the gold. But the law says it's an offence to melt down coins so if a £300 coin has a face value of just £1.05 (a guinea), that's what it's worth. Of course collectors pay more but as I read it - change your money into gold coins and you have hidden 97% of it's value.