Darknet Drug Trading: Key Concepts, Trends and Possibilities

Abstract

Since 2011, illicit drug trading on the encrypted darknet has expanded from a niche criminal activity to a global phenomenon involving thousands of online drug vendors located around the world. The growing proportion of the illicit drugs trade that is shifting online has particular relevance to Australia, which currently has one of the world's highest per capital concentrations of online drug vendors. Unlike the conventional illicit drugs trade, cryptomarkets function out in the open, providing researchers with ready access to large data sets regarding a range of valuable information, including: drug prices, trading frequencies, and vendor locations. The availability of this data allows scholars and law enforcement agencies the opportunity to track the development of online drug trading in real time and unprecedented detail, and raises new possibilities regarding how social network analysis may be used to further understanding of this novel criminal phenomenon. This paper presents an analysis of the online illicit drugs trade, examining past and current trends, methodological innovation and data sources, and leading edge research in the area.

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Short Bio

Dr James Martin is a senior lecturer and criminology program coordinator at the Department of Security Studies & Criminology at Macquarie University. His award-winning research monograph - /Drugs on the Dark Net: How Cryptomarkets are Transforming the Global Trade in Illicit Drugs/ - was the first scholarly book published on this topic, and introduced key concepts regarding the growth and impact of the darknet on the practice and police of illicit drug markets. Dr Martin's research is funded by both the /Australian Institute of Criminology/ and the /National Health and Medical Research Council/. He is also a founding member of the /Cryptomarkets Research Hub/, a transnational network facilitating scholarly collaboration and research into the darknet drugs trade.