If you’ve followed our blogs, then you know that we’ve covered the ugly underworld of the dark web before. This uncharted region of the internet is a hotspot for online drug dealers and, sadly, addicts in need of a fix. Well according to the Director of The Centre of Radicalization and Terrorism, illicit activities on this network are now stronger than ever and proving to be a real danger to those battling a dependency.
Centre director Nikita Malik was recently quoted on The Fix’s website, emphasizing the rise in illegal painkiller sales across this uncharted (and unregulated) “Darknet.”
“A common form of criminal activity on the Darknet is the sale and distribution of illicit drugs, which has been bolstered by a change in the legal statuses of products or substances from ‘legal’ or ‘unregulated’ to ‘illegal,’ ‘controlled,’ or ‘banned’ substances,” Malik explained on the site. “These changing legal statuses, combined with stricter regulation and the implementation of new laws by law enforcement, has meant that sales of the highest category of banned drugs and substances has increasingly migrated to marketplaces on the Darknet.”
One substance that has had a dramatic sales increase across the dark web is fentanyl. Also known as a “synthetic opioid,” it has been primarily to blame for the large spike in fatal overdoses across the U.S.
Apparently the Darknet is where more and more people are looking to score on fentanyl purchases. In fact, in the year 2017 there were more than 1,000 documented “trades” of it through the online network (and possibly thousands more that were unaccounted for).
The dark site Silk Road had been one of the primary online trading posts for the drug. And though federal agents were ultimately able to shut that destination down, dozens more have appeared in its place and begun selling narcotics.
The currency Bitcoin was also referenced, as it is one of the primary (and most untraceable) ways for customers make their online drug transactions. And purchases on the dark web as a whole are apparently increasing as well. Stolen goods, arms and prostitutes have been known to be part of the “trades” that occur.
Sadly, Malik did not offer encouraging news about the future of the dark web. In her opinion, it’s a very difficult place to police and there are strong indicators that it may continue to thrive in the years to come.
“These figures, as well as multiple case studies and convictions, clearly reveal that the Darknet provides access to illegal drugs and banned substances,” Malik concluded. “Moreover, sales are expected to increase as the platform remains largely unregulated.”
We can only hope that the tides will eventually turn on this at some point in the future.
Russian hacker hacking the server in the dark
