Australia remains a major market for illicit drugs on the dark web despite the FBI's aggressive move to shut down leading illegal online drug emporium Silk Road and the life jail sentence handed to its US mastermind. Illicit drugs sold on cryptomarkets were dominated by cannabis (37%), stimulants like cocaine and amphetamines (29%) and ecstasy-type drugs (19%). The study found since Silk Road was closed in 2013 online transactions for cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, cannabis, ecstasy and other drugs in new dark web markets have tripled and revenues doubled. A new study by Rand Corp Europe compared the e-commerce platforms used by sellers and buyers of cocaine, heroin, amphetamines and other drugs on the dark web to mainstream legal sites like Amazon.com. Australia has the third highest number of vendors selling drugs on the secretive cryptomarkets, just behind the United States and the United Kingdom and ahead of Germany and the Netherlands.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 09, 2016 00:00 UTC