DA Bragg Announces Takedown Of Dark Web Cryptocurrency Drug Trafficking Ring That Laundered $72 Million

Contacting National Desks

Darknet Drug Trafficking: A Comprehensive Guide

The Dark Web Down Under: What’s Driving The Rise And Rise Of NZ’s ‘Tor Market’ For Illegal Drugs?

Darknet drug trafficking is a growing concern for law enforcement agencies around the world. The darknet, a part of the internet that is intentionally hidden and inaccessible through standard web browsers, has become a hub for illegal drug sales.

What is the Darknet?

The darknet is a network of websites that are not indexed by search engines and can only be accessed using specialized software, such as the Tor browser. It is often associated with illegal activities, including drug trafficking, weapons sales, and the sharing of child pornography.

Killnet has attracted a lot of attention because of past DDOS attacks against NATO, U.S. law enforcement, and multiple EU government agencies during the peak of war in Ukraine. It is not clear if this group may be state-supported or solely driven by their ideological motivation, or perhaps artificially created by foreign governments considering dark websites ongoing geopolitical tensions. It is worth mentioning, another actor with the alias Wazawaka was presumably responsible for a similar attack against the now closed Hydra marketplace back in 2018. Over the summer 2022, most of these new markets were primarily fighting for brand recognition, much like a ‘cyber-90s’ type of environment.

How is Darknet Drug Trafficking Carried Out?

Some of the money WU and others received was laundered by converting Monero – a form of anonymized cryptocurrency that is extremely difficult to trace or monitor – into Bitcoin. The Bitcoin would then enter cryptocurrency exchange accounts controlled by WU, TANG, and others. Of the laundered money, over $734,000 was converted into U.S. dollars and laundered through U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange accounts, including accounts held by WU and TANG. At least $2.4 million in Bitcoin was sent to a foreign darknet markets based cryptocurrency exchange and laundered in the form of Chinese Yuan. Trial Preparation Assistants Chris O’Hara, Thomas Hutto, Camilla Cox; Supervising Computer Forensic Analyst Douglas Daus, Senior Computer Forensic Analyst Borislav Vestfrid, and former Investigative Analyst Morgan Spencer also assisted with the investigation. It seized 50.8 million euros ($53.4 million) in cash and virtual currencies, 850 kilograms of drugs, and 117 firearms were seized in a series of raids in several countries.

Darknet drug trafficking typically involves the use of online marketplaces, such as the now-defunct Silk Road, where buyers and sellers can connect and conduct transactions acess the dark web using cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. These marketplaces often have strict rules and regulations in place to protect the anonymity of their users.

What are the Risks of Darknet Drug Trafficking?

• A month before Peck’s sentence, a federal grand jury returned an 11-count indictment charging Christopher Hampton, of Cerritos, California, with various narcotics and weapons offenses.
• The resulting arrests overshadowed the 150 arrests made following the takedown of DarkMarket in 2021, and 179 following the takedown of Wall Street Market in 2019.
• After Silk Road was shut down by law enforcement, many other markets proliferated, sparking rounds of innovation and disruption between market administrators and law enforcement [18].

What are the economics of the cyber drug trade that is rampant across the globe? How does the economy take into consideration the unreported transactions on the dark side of the internet and what are the positive and negative implications of a widespread trade like this in these globalizing times? This research paper aims to analyze various data and information to find and conclude how the darknet drug trade has had significant economic impact on the international financial sector. This paper also elaborates onions links on why the black market is highly prevalent in the current times and what are the ill-effects of Darknet, in particular, drug trade on the Darknet. The analysis of economic consequences of unreported dealings is also taken into consideration and elaborated on. The paper sheds light on the bleak and disturbing statistics of involvement of various countries in the online drug ring marketplace with countries like the United States, India and Turkey dealing heavily in the illegal Darknet drug markets.

There are several risks associated with darknet drug trafficking, including the potential for arrest and prosecution, the risk of violence or theft, and the possibility of receiving faulty or dangerous drugs. Additionally, many darknet marketplaces are run by criminal organizations, which can make them dangerous and unpredictable places to do business.

The 10-month operation, which involved law enforcement officials in the U.S. and Europe, took place as drug overdose deaths have spiked. Last year, more than 90,000 people in the U.S. died of drug overdoses, a 30% increase over 2019, according to federal statistics. Last month, the Justice Department announced charges against the Sinaloa Cartel, a notorious drug trafficking organization based in Sinaloa, Mexico, and its facilitators around the world. For the first time, the FBI deployed agents around the country to “knock and talk” with numerous buyers of drugs on the darknet and to warn them about the dangers of their drug buys, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said.

How is Darknet Drug Trafficking Being Addressed?

Nearly 300 people were arrested in a record-breaking international drug enforcement operation that targeted fentanyl and opioid traffickers on the dark web, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday. 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. The Justice Department said the global operation led to the arrests of over 150 people and the seizure of large quantities of opioids and other drugs. Regardless, the DNM criminal economy continues to proliferate unimpeded by the intervention of law enforcement. Mega provides an automated exchange service and a built-in wallet to process cryptocurrencies.

We cannot find evidence for significant production-side offerings across any of the drug types or marketplaces. Instead, we present strong evidence that cannabis and cocaine vendors are primarily located in a small number of highly active consumer countries, suggesting that darknet markets primarily inhabit the role of local retailers serving the ‘last mile’ for certain regions. According to their white paper, the team tracked and classified data pertaining to nearly 1.5 million trades occurring on popular darknet markets from June to July 2017. The data was restricted to sales of cocaine, cannabis, and opiates – and limited to purchases with online reviews.

Law enforcement agencies around the world are working to combat darknet drug trafficking through a variety of means, including the use of undercover agents, the tracking of cryptocurrency transactions, and the dismantling of darknet marketplaces. However, the darknet is constantly evolving, and new marketplaces and technologies are emerging all the time, making it a challenging issue to address.

FAQs

• What is the darknet? The darknet is a network of websites that are not indexed by search engines

  What is the top selling drug in 2023?

  Merck’s Keytruda rolled to $25 billion in sales in 2023, which likely made it the world’s top-selling drug in 2023.

  What drug are being trafficked?

  Drug trafficking, also known as drug distribution, is the crime of selling, transporting, or illegally importing unlawful controlled substances, such as heroin, cocaine, marijuana, or other illegal drugs.