Buying drugs on a Darknet market: A better deal? Studying the online illicit drug market through the analysis of digital, physical and chemical data

Rhumorbarbe, Damien; Staehli, Ludovic; Broséus, Julian; Rossy, Quentin; Esseiva, Pierre

doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2016.08.032

Cited by 86 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Indeed, they depend on what the sellers state on their sale proposals and profiles. The only viable way to verify the accuracy of the online information is to purchase and evaluate a product [19,42]. However, an incoherence between the stated online information and that of the physical product shipped by post could have a negative impact on the reputation of the seller and consequently on his revenue [8].…”

Section: General Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, even if the possibility exists that sellers do not provide accurate information, it seems unlikely that they do so in regards to the shipping country and the products offered for sale [8,18,25]. In addition, the stated origin country tends to be accurate, as evidenced by studies based on darknet orders [19], seizures of postal parcels at the borders [43] and coherence between online information and knowledge regarding the offline market [8,9].…”

Section: General Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a consequence, the dataset used in this study can be considered representative for the purpose of the research. This dataset has already been used in a previous research in ord er to provide an overview of Evolution in an attempt to test the reliability of vendors' listings by purchasing illicit drugs and analysing them [19]. The present research is not only focused on drugs related listings but on all goods offered on Evolution.…”

Section: Dataset and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…China, the Netherlands or Germany) may help to target posts from these specific countries. Furthermore, combining the trafficking flows information to the types of good and the concealment methods indicated by sellers online, which tends to match that of the delivered packages [19], may be of added value and could help targeting specific types of packages from specific countries. …”

Section: Trafficking Flowsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was concluded that spatial specificity can be due to different factors affecting countries differently, such as geographic isolation, stringent border controls, relaxed laws in regards to illicit goods, high prices of goods, strict control of internet access, proximity to producing countries, domestic productions of goods and relative availability of illicit goods [8]. Most research on cryptomarkets has focussed on drugs to evaluate the structure of the market [2,10,11], characteristics of vendors [12][13][14], consumers/users' demand [15,16], the investigation of sales volume [11], vendors' activity [17], wholesale vs. retail [18] and the coherence between digital and physical information [19]. In a few words, literature shows that cryptomarkets are dominated by English-speaking countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia) and Western European countries (in particular, the Netherlands) and the main offered and purchased illicit drugs are cannabis, stimulants (cocaine and amphetamines), ecstasy (MDMA) and psychedelics (NPS, LSD) [8,10,16,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

A geographical analysis of trafficking on a popular darknet market

Broséus

Rhumorbarbe

Morelato

et al. 2017

Forensic Science International

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Cryptomarkets are online marketplaces, located on the darknet, that facilitate the trading of a variety of illegal goods, mostly drugs. While the literature essentially focused on drugs, various other goods and products related to financial or identity fraud, firearms or counterfeit goods, as well as doping products are also offered on these marketplaces. Through the analysis of relevant data collected on a popular marketplace in 2014-2015, Evolution, this research provides an analysis of the structure of trafficking (types and proportions of products, number of vendors, shipping countries). It also aims at highlighting geographical patterns in the trafficking of these products (e.g. trafficking flows, specialisation of vendors, role in the distribution chain). The analysis of the flow of goods between countries emphasises the role of specific countries in the international and domestic trafficking, potentially informing law enforcement agencies to target domestic mails or international posts from specific countries. The research also highlights the large proportion of licit and illicit drug listings and vendors on Evolution, followed by various fraud issues (in particular, financial fraud), the sharing of knowledge (tutorials) and finally goods, currencies and precious metals (principally luxury goods). Looking at the country of origin, there seems to be a clear division between digital and physical products, with more specific information for physical goods. This reveals that the spatial analysis of trafficking is particularly meaningful in the case of physical products (such as illicit drugs) and to a lesser extent for digital products. Finally, the geographical analysis reveals that spatial patterns on Evolution tend to reflect the structure of the traditional illicit market. However, regarding illicit drugs, country-specificity have been observed and are presented in this article.

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Section: General Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: General Discussion and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dataset and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Trafficking Flowsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

A geographical analysis of trafficking on a popular darknet market

Broséus

Rhumorbarbe

Morelato

et al. 2017

Forensic Science International

Self Cite

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Variability in content and dissolution profiles of MDMA tablets collected in the UK between 2001 and 2018 – A potential risk to users?

Couchman

Frinculescu

Sobreira

et al. 2019

Drug Testing and Analysis

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3,4‐Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy) tablets are widely used recreationally, and not only vary in appearance, but also in MDMA content. Recently, the prevalence of high‐content tablets is of concern to public health authorities. To compare UK data with other countries, we evaluated MDMA content of 412 tablets collected from the UK, 2001–2018, and investigated within‐batch content variability for a sub‐set of these samples. In addition, we investigated dissolution profiles of tablets using pharmaceutical industry‐standard dissolution experiments on 247 tablets. All analyses were carried out using liquid chromatography−tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Our data supported other studies, in that recent samples (2016–2018) tend to have higher MDMA content compared to earlier years. In 2018, the median MDMA content exceeded 100 mg free‐base for the first time. Dramatic within‐batch content variability (up to 136 mg difference) was also demonstrated. Statistical evaluation of dissolution profiles at 15‐minutes allowed tablets to be categorized as fast‐, intermediate‐, or slow‐releasing, but no tablet characteristics correlated with dissolution classification. Hence, there would be no way of users knowing a priori whether a tablet is more likely to be fast or slow‐releasing. Further, within‐batch variation in dissolution rate was observed. Rapid assessment of MDMA content alone provides important data for harm reduction, but does not account for variability in (a) the remainder of tablets in a batch, or (b) MDMA dissolution profiles. Clinical manifestations of MDMA toxicity, especially for high‐content, slow‐releasing tablets, may be delayed or prolonged, and there is a significant risk of users re‐dosing if absorption is delayed.

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New psychoactive substances on dark web markets: From deal solicitation to forensic analysis of purchased substances

Jurásek

Čmelo

Svoboda

et al. 2020

Drug Testing and Analysis

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The dark web scene has been drawing the attention of law enforcement agencies and researchers alike. To date, most of the published works on the dark web are based on data gained by passive observation. To gain a more contextualized perspective, a study was conducted in which three vendors were selected on the "Dream Market" dark web marketplace, from whom subsequently several new psychoactive substances (NPS) were ordered. All transactions were documented from the initial drug deal solicitation to the final qualitative analysis of all received samples. From the selected vendors, a total of nine NPS samples was obtained, all of which were analyzed by NMR, HRMS, LC-UV, and two also by x-ray diffraction. According to our analyses, four of the five substances offered under already known NPS names contained a different NPS. The selected vendors therefore either did not know about their product, or deliberately deceived the buyers. Furthermore, two of three obtained samples of purportedly novel NPS were identified as already documented substances sold under a different name. However, the third characterized substance sold as "MPF-47700" was a novel, yet uncharacterized, NPS. Finally, we received a single undeclared substance, later identified as 5F-ADB. In addition to chemical analysis of the nine obtained NPS samples, the methodology used also yielded contextual information about the accessibility of NPS on the dark web, the associated purchase process, and the modus operandi of three NPS vendors. Direct participation in dark web marketplaces seems to provide additional layers of information useful for forensic studies.

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Buying drugs on a Darknet market: A better deal? Studying the online illicit drug market through the analysis of digital, physical and chemical data

Cited by 86 publications

References 29 publications

A geographical analysis of trafficking on a popular darknet market

A geographical analysis of trafficking on a popular darknet market

Variability in content and dissolution profiles of MDMA tablets collected in the UK between 2001 and 2018 – A potential risk to users?

New psychoactive substances on dark web markets: From deal solicitation to forensic analysis of purchased substances

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