UN: Mexico Reaches The Top 50 Of Drug Sales Through The 'Darknet

"Sol Prendido" for Borderland Beat

In an exercise carried out by MILENIO on the Darknet, it was possible to find a Market Place offering cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamines and other types of drugs.

The drug market on the darknet can range from thousands to millions of dollars.

The Internet drug market, incipient in Mexico, was measured by the World Drug Report Online 2023, of the United Nations (UN), placing Mexico in 33rd place out of 85 nations where this type of criminal activity was found.

"Darknet marketplaces represent a very small share of all drug transactions, but their volatility in moving quickly in and out of online environments and the increasing size of average payments for a single transaction may indicate that such platforms are becoming increasingly specialized and favored by drug distributors," the report said.

According to figures reported by the UN digital platform, the darknet drug market can range from thousands to millions of dollars in profits depending on the country.

"Different online platforms appear to be used to facilitate transactions of different drugs. Among the drugs that are purchased through the internet, new psychoactive substances are appearing.

"They are accessed more through specialized internet stores and the dark web, while cannabis and cocaine are more commonly bought and sold on social networking platforms," the report highlights.

Meth offered on Market Place, up to 21 days to receive it

In an exercise carried out by MILENIO on the darknet, it was possible to find a Market Place, a kind of community of 27,514 members and 2023 sellers offering cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamines and other types of drugs.

For example, a seller identified as Bill Flakes offers methamphetamines in the style of the Braking Bad series to the whole world, with a delivery time of one to seven days in Europe, five to 12 in the United States and seven to 21 in the rest of the world.

What is the darknet and how is it different from the deep web?

The UN document defines the darknet as overlay networks within the internet that can only be accessed with specific software and configurations.

In this area, the anonymity of the people sharing or searching for information is privileged. Entering it is relatively easy, you only need some computer knowledge and a browser such as Tor.

The document makes the difference with the deep web by considering that in this site most of the activities carried out are legal, since the content can be located and accessed by a direct URL or IP address, but may require a password or other security to access websites; it includes many very common uses such as mail or online banking.

By region, the minimum annual profits multiply, although they do not yet reach the levels of common drug sales.

For example, Central and Eastern Europe recorded profits of US$48.6 million, followed by North America with US$41.6 million and Oceania in third place with US$8.5 million.

All kinds of drugs and even controlled drugs are sold on the darknet.

According to the report, in the five years measured, the main drugs purchased on the Internet were marijuana (37.5%), stimulants (21.4%), cocaine (17%), opioids (7.5%), benzodiazepines (6.6%), controlled drugs (4.8%), dissociative drugs (4.0%) and new psychoactive substances (2.3%).

"Digital interconnectivity has increased globally and is changing the way people buy and access drugs, just as it has for other commodities.

"It remains to be seen whether this change will drastically affect drug consumption and trafficking patterns," he says.

According to the UN analysis, supply chains are becoming shorter in the online market, which reduces costs and increases accessibility for users of these substances.

Faced with this new scenario, authorities around the world are responding with international operations.

Just at the beginning of May, a dark web portal selling drugs was shut down, 288 suspects were arrested, more than 54 million dollars in cash and virtual currencies were seized, as well as a ton of illicit substances thanks to an operation involving the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil.

The largest number of arrests were made in the United States, where 153 people were arrested, followed by the United Kingdom with 55, Germany with 52 and the Netherlands with ten.

Milenio