The " Dark Web " - and Drugs !

The  " Dark Web " is a mystery to most internet users, but with special software it can be a treasure trove of encrypted business when it is used to sell and deliver illegal drugs on the Australian drug scene. A recent arrest will test the prosecutions case when the law comes to terms with convincing a judge and jury that this provides the legal evidence to sustain a prosecution.

In fact, this court case may be based more on the " unexplained wealth " aspect of the law than with hard evidence of drug selling activity.  The security of the dark web enabled buyers and sellers to negotiate a sale safe from the ears and eyes of the police and the actual drugs were simply mailed through the post is small quantities.

In this case the New South Wales Crime Commission won the right to seize the assets of a young 25 year old man and his two sisters, aged 24 and 20.   Under the trios control was a multi-million dollar home at Callala Bay on the south coast, Maserati and Mercedes Benz cars and varying amounts of cash spread across Commonwealth Bank accounts and secreted away in three south coast homes.  The police also located 2.5 kilograms of powder, believed to be Cocaine and a quantity of tablets believed to be LSD, but their authenticity has yet to be tested.

So far very few dark web prosecutions have been successful because of the difficulty of producing hard evidence.  Considering the astronomical profits that quickly accumulate from drug sales it is no wonder new players are constantly entering the supply chain.  The creation of the dark web must be a very attractive option to those with the technical skills to learn its secrets.  Fortunately for law enforcement, those same riches usually make successful drug dealers stand out from the crowd.

By its illegal nature, cash is the conduit between buying and selling drugs.  The huge number of these illicit transactions soon generates large amounts of cash money and today's cash reporting laws make establishing some sort of laundering process high priority. A suitcase full of cash is fast becoming an embarrassment. The avenues open to its placement are constantly shrinking as " tap and go " payment systems replace cash.

Fortunately, human nature seems to be the drug dealers worst enemy.  When people become rich they seem unable to resist flaunting their wealth.  The " look at me " syndrome kicks in and they need to drive the car that turns heads and live in a house that draws the admiration of their colleagues, and if that wealth can not be legally explained it now becomes the key to their undoing.

In todays shrinking world there must be few businesses that only accept cash and lack the ability to process credit based purchases. Mobile services that come to the customers home now have that sort of payment system and it seems inevitable that the drug supply will mask its activity with some sort of legitimate business and insist on other than cash payments.

The use of the dark web to peddle drugs is early warning that the crime scene has the ability to change with the times.  We may be about to see credit replace cash on the illicit drug scene.