Dark web is mysterious and the anonymity it provides, the dark web has become a popular source for illicit drugs. Drug sales on the dark web now amount to 315 million dollars annually, up from 80 million dollars annually just in 2017, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report

As with everything else during the years of the Covid-19 pandemic, contactless drug peddling was identified as an accelerating trend. Even before Covid-19, though, the accessibility of drugs had begun widening, with dealers turning to social media and even popular e-commerce platforms to peddle their wares.

Currently it is cannabis, which has been fully legalized across several states in the U.S., that dominates dark web sales.

Customers intending to buy drugs over the dark web typically access it through the onion router (Tor) in order to conceal their identities. Specialized dark web explorers (GRAMS, DuckDuckGo, Ahmia, Torch, Hidden Wiki, etc.) enable them to access their desired market platforms. The goods bought on the various darknet marketplaces are then typically paid for in cryptocurrencies, most notably bitcoins, which are also used for licit transactions on the open web. These cryptocurrencies can subsequently be used to buy other goods and services, or they may be exchanged for various national currencies.

The top most darkweb drug market places:

The following include the top most drug market places available in the darkweb:

DarkFox, Vice City, Royal Market, AlphaBay Market, Kingdom Market, ASAP Market, Tor2Door, Bohemia, Incognito, Cocorico and Night gator, etc.

drug market places

The top most darkweb drug forums:

The following include the top most drug forums available in the dark web: Breaking Bad, Nemesis, The Stock Insider, Dread and The Tor Forum.

drug forums

The following are the names of drug listings available for sale in dark web market places:

Cocaine, Hash, Weed, LSD, Marijuana, Tramodal, MDMA, 4EMC,Inhalants, Powder, Pills, bars, Xanax, Pharma, Speed,XTC,Heroin, Crystals,Cola, Grass, Cheese, Ketamine, Narcotics, Adderall, Paste, Dispensary, Oxycodone, Fishscale,Vanilla, Ecstasy,Purple, Haze, Pineapple, Uncut,Flowers, Substances, Valium, Tablets, Methodone, Alprazolam, Moonrocks, Cookies, Rohypnol, Cannabis, Buds, Eliquid, Edibles, Seeds,Chews, Stimulants, Methamphetamine, Amphetamine, PVP, Ephidrine, Mexedrone, Psychedelics, DMT,NBOMe, DOM,DOB, Empathogens, Mephedrone, GHB, Opiates, Dissociatives, Tobacco,Poppers, Fentanyl, Benzodiazepines,Viagra, Sedatatives, Barbiturates, Antidepressants, Antipsychotics, Levitra, Baclofen, Steriods, Meth, RC’s, etc.

What is mostly there in dark web?

Drug types in the dark web:

types of drugs

Largest market places by number of listings:

active users , drug markets and fraud shops

Dark web and cryptocurrencies:

It is very evident that cryptocurrencies are always have been used for payments in dark web. Darkwed market has set a new revenue record in 2021 as it brought in a total of $2.1 billion in cryptocurrency, according to the Chainalysis report.

As per the report, Hydra, a market that serves only Russian-speaking countries, is the largest darkweb market operating via crypto so far. In 2021, Hydra accounted for 80% of darknet market revenue worldwide, in terms of cryptocurrency.

The five largest markets in the crypto sector, other than the Hydra market, were, in descending order of revenue: UniCC, FEshop, Flugsvamp Market, Bypass Shop, and DarkMarket. Of these five markets, three were fraud shops (UniCC, FEshop, Bypass shop), two were drug markets (Flugsvamp Market, DarkMarket), and two were taken down by law enforcement (UniCC and DarkMarket). All of these markets serve customers worldwide, with the exception of Flugsvamp, which serves only Swedish users.

As per the investigation, from 2017 to 2021, Binance processed transactions totaling at least $2.35 billion stemming from hacks, investment frauds and illegal drug sales, a report by Reuters stated as they calculated from an examination of court records, statements by law enforcement and blockchain data.

Hydra, a giant Russian-language darkweb marketplace that used cryptocurrencies for the sale and purchase of drugs, is also said to have used Binance to process more than $780 million. Separately, crypto researcher Chainalysis, hired by U.S. government agencies to track illegal flows, concluded in a 2020 report that Binance received criminal funds totaling $770 million alone, more than any other crypto exchange.

45% of bitcoin sent to the darkweb comes from a KYC-free exchange. A report conducted by Bitfury and Crystal Blockchain into the use of cryptocurrencies on the dark web indicates the number of exchanges is increasing. Interestingly, the report suggests the majority of users are sending bitcoin directly from an exchange with no KYC demands during checkout. 45% of bitcoin sent into the dark web has come from a KYC-free exchange account. This is a reduction of 30% from 2017.

Crystal Blockchain also notes funds moving between different markets are also on the rise, indicating darkweb users might be trying to hide their bitcoin within the darkweb. In total, the value of bitcoin sent and received from KYC exchanges also more than doubled between 2019 and 2020 from $36 million to $73 million.

The Crypto Exchanges without KYC Verification in 2022 are as follows:

Bybit, Phemex, Bitfinex, FTX, Huobi, Kraken, BitForex, BaseFEX, BTSE, etc.

payment to drug market places

Impact of drugs on the environment:

Drug Trafficking on Social Media:

Selling drugs on the dark web was a big business. Marketplaces like Silk Road and AlphaBay were havens for potential buyers to compare and purchase whatever they had their eye on. Protected by a cloak of anonymity, a setup that allowed money to travel via escrow, and even a review system for the products offered, these dark web sites were the obvious choice for miscreants to lay low.

However, the constant shutdowns of these marketplaces and the difficulty to lure big numbers to the dark web has meant that criminal enterprises have had to think differently about how they reach their markets. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has helped open up new avenues for criminal activity, from the greater vulnerability of home working to restricted access to venues and the use of vaccine passports. People are online more than ever and may also be more susceptible to illicit offerings.

In recent years, new platforms have emerged that criminals have co-opted, with perhaps Telegram being the most notable example. Telegram is a free, open-source, cloud-based instant messaging platform that has gained huge popularity as people want privacy-focused communications. Of course, it’s a completely legitimate app offering end-to-end encrypted messages and calls so that ISPs and other third parties cannot access the data.

Unsurprisingly, the platform has also attracted the attention of criminals who are keen to take advantage of this privacy. On offer is everything from drugs, counterfeit money, stolen credit card details and other personal data to hitmen services (or, rather, hitman scams). Notably, some sellers are also offering fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination passes, certificates to enable travel, and vaccine cards, each for some amount.

But it’s not just Telegram. TikTok users have also offered drugs to a market in a brazen style. Class A drugs could be found on the site in seconds, luring people to use the chat function to order their narcotics. The movement to easily accessible services and the way dealers are open to communication even on an unencrypted platform suggests the bold lengths they are heading in to capitalize on the market among young people.

The same is the case with end-to-end encrypted messengers such as Signal, etc.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *