Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Open Source Intelligence and Cyber Crime pp 89–111Cite as

Beyond the ‘Silk Road’: Assessing Illicit Drug Marketplaces on the Public Web

Part of the Lecture Notes in Social Networks book series (LNSN)

Abstract

Criminals take advantage of internet communications to amplify the impact of their actions and to form international criminal networks. At the same time, vast amounts of information generated by their online activities have become available for analysis. Open source web intelligence is a valuable methodology for understanding and responding to these new global criminal phenomena. Collecting data from websites, social media platforms and online discussion forums enables researchers, investigators and policy-makers to study and to develop appropriate responses to emerging threats. Automated web intelligence tools such as web crawlers can be used to extract relevant information from target websites and to map the threat landscape of criminogenic environments online. For the study presented in this chapter, we used our web-crawling software to download contents of 28 Russian online marketplaces for illicit drugs. Drug names, types, prices, quantities and geographical locations of sales were extracted and mapped to identify drug trafficking hotspots. Findings indicate such marketplaces can operate due to the ability of their clients to pay anonymously with virtual currencies (specifically Bitcoin and Qiwi) and to deliver the drugs through non-contact methods. This type of service is available in all large cities within Russia and provides to the seller with a safer and more anonymous alternative to “street-level” purchases. The method described in this study can be used to investigate and to prioritize online threats according to their location and severity.

Keywords

  • Online drug trafficking
  • Anonymous payments
  • Novel psychoactive substances

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  1. P. Mullan, Who uses digital currency? in The Digital Currency Challenge: Shaping Online Payment Systems Through US Financial Regulations (Palgrave Pivot, New York, 2014), pp. 13–15

    Google Scholar 

  2. T. Tropina, Fighting money laundering in the age of online banking, virtual currencies and internet gambling. ERA Forum 15(1), 69–84 (2014)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  3. D. Décary-Hétu, L. Giommoni, Do police crackdowns disrupt drug cryptomarkets? A longitudinal analysis of the effects of Operation Onymous. Crime Law Soc. Chang. 67(1), 55–75 (2017)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  4. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2017 (2017), https://www.unodc.org/wdr2017/index.html

  5. J. Aldridge, D. Décary-Hétu, Hidden wholesale: the drug diffusing capacity of online drug cryptomarkets. Int. J. Drug Policy 35(C), 7–15 (2016)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  6. Financial Action Task Force, Guidance for a Risk-Based Approach to Prepaid Cards, Mobile Payments and Internet-Based Payment Services (FATF/GAFI, Paris, 2013), http://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/fatfrecommendations/documents/rba-npps-2013.html

  7. B. Monk, J. Mitchell, R. Frank, G. Davies, Uncovering Tor: an examination of the network structure. Secur. Meas. Cyber Netw. 2018, 4231326 (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  8. B. Westlake, M. Bouchard, R. Frank, Assessing the validity of automated webcrawlers as data collection tools to investigate online child sexual exploitation. Sex. Abus. 29, 685 (2015)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  9. A.T. Zulkarnine, R. Frank, B. Monk, J. Mitchell, G. Davies, Surfacing collaborated networks in dark web to find illicit and criminal content, in Intelligence and Security Informatics (ISI) Conference, Arizona (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  10. F. Mena, D. Hobbs, Narcophobia: drugs prohibition and the generation of human rights abuses. Trends Organised Crime 13(1), 60–74 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-009-9087-8

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  11. D.R. Bewley-Taylor, The American crusade: the internationalization of drug prohibition. Addict. Res. Theory 11(2), 71–81 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1080/1606635021000021377

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  12. E. Crick, Drugs as an existential threat: an analysis of the international securitization of drugs. Int. J. Drug Policy 23(5), 407–414 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2012.03.004

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  13. J. Buchanan, Ending drug prohibition with a hangover? Br. J. Community Justice 13(1), 55–74 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  14. D. Perrone, R.D. Helgesen, R.G. Fischer, United States drug prohibition and legal highs: how drug testing may lead cannabis users to spice. Drugs: Educ., Prev. Policy 20(3), 216–224 (2013). https://doi.org/10.3109/09687637.2012.749392

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  15. K. Meyers, Ö. Kaynak, E. Bresani, B. Curtis, A. McNamara, K. Brownfield, K.C. Kirby, The availability and depiction of synthetic cathinones (bath salts) on the Internet: do online suppliers employ features to maximize purchases? Int. J. Drug Policy 26(7), 670–674 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2015.01.012.GLOBALCRIME25

    Google Scholar 

  16. B. Curtis, K. Alanis-Hirsch, Ö. Kaynak, J. Cacciola, K. Meyers, A.T. McLellan, Using Web searches to track interest in synthetic cannabinoids (aka ‘herbal incense’). Drug Alcohol Rev. 34(1), 105–108 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.12189

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  17. P. Griffiths, R. Sedefov, A. Gallegos, D. Lopez, How globalization and market innovation challenge how we think about and respond to drug use: ‘Spice’ a case study. Addiction 105, 951–953 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02874.x

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  18. J. Gershman, A. Fass, Synthetic cathinones (‘bath salts’): legal and health care challenges. P T 37(10), 571–595 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  19. L. Karila, B. Megarbane, O. Cottencin, M. Lejoyeux, Synthetic cathinones: a new public health problem. Curr. Neuropharmacol 13(1), 12–20 (2015)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  20. A. Lavorgna, Internet-mediated drug trafficking: towards a better understanding of new criminal dynamics. Trends Organised Crime 17(4), 250–270 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-014-9226-8

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  21. M.J. Barratt, J.A. Ferris, A.R. Winstock, Use of Silk Road, the online drug marketplace, in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. Addiction 109(5), 774–783 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1111/add.12470

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  22. J. Broséus, D. Rhumorbarbe, C. Mireault, V. Ouellette, F. Crispino, D. Décary-Hétu, Studying illicit drug trafficking on Darknet markets: structure and organisation from a Canadian perspective. Forensic Sci. Int. 264, 7–14 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2016.02.045

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  23. D.S. Dolliver, Evaluating drug trafficking on the Tor Network: Silk Road 2, the sequel. Int. J. Drug Policy 26(11), 1113–1123 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2015.01.008

    Google Scholar 

  24. A. Phelps, A. Watt, I shop online – recreationally! Internet anonymity and Silk Road enabling drug use in Australia. Digit. Investig. 11(4), 261–272 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.diin.2014.08.001

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  25. M.V. Hout, T. Bingham, ‘Surfing the Silk Road’: a study of users’ experiences. Int. J. Drug Policy 24(6), 524–529 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.08.011

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  26. M.C. Van Hout, T. Bingham, Responsible vendors, intelligent consumers: Silk Road, the online revolution in drug trading. Int. J. Drug Policy 25(2), 183–189 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2013.10.009

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  27. J. Van Buskirk, A. Roxburgh, M. Farrell, L. Burns, The closure of the Silk Road: what has this meant for online drug trading? Addiction 109, 517–518 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1111/add.12422

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  28. A.L. Osipenko, P.V. Minenko, Investigative counteraction to illegal drug trafficking by telecommunication devices (in Russian). Bull. Voronezh Institute of MVD 1, 151–155 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  29. A.V. Puptseva, Problematic issues of detecting crimes in the domain of illegal drug trafficking with the use of wireless communication devices (in Russian), in VIII International Scientific and Practice Conference, Tyumen, 15 Feb 2016

    Google Scholar 

  30. A.V. Ryasov, The issues of illegal sale of drugs using information and telecommunication networks (in Russian). Vestnik SevKavGTI 16, 197–199 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  31. A.N. Kolycheva, Certain aspects of preserving evidentiary information stored on Internet resources (in Russian). Bull. Udmurt University. Economics Law 2(27), 109–113 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  32. L.M. Kryzhanovskaya, Interaction investigators and officers inquest in the production of selected investigative actions on cases of illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs (in Russian). Theory Pract. Soc. Dev. 1, 1–4 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  33. F.P. Vasilyev, Modern features of interpretation of law enforcement interaction in Russia and the need for improvement (in Russian). Innov. Sci 3(2), 102–110 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Financial Action Task Force, Financial Flows Linked to the Production and Trafficking of Afghan Opiates (FATF/GAFI, Paris, 2014), http://www.fatf-gafi.org/documents/news/financial-flows-afghan-opiates.html

  35. I.A. Sementsova, A. I. Fomenko, Internet environment as a method of trafficking in illegal drugs, psychoactive substances or their analogs (in Russian), in VIII International Scientific and Practice Conference, Tyumen, 10 Feb 2016

    Google Scholar 

  36. D.A. Donika, Noncontact method of drug distribution (in Russian). Int. J. Exp. Educ. 6, 17–18 (2014), http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sbyt-narkoticheskih-sredstv-beskontaktnym-sposobom

  37. M. Barratt, J. Aldridge, Everything you always wanted to know about drug cryptomarkets (but were afraid to ask). Int. J. Drug Policy 35, 1–6 (2016)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  38. J. Van Buskirk, S. Naicker, A. Roxburgh, R. Bruno, L. Burns, Who sells what? Country specific differences in substance availability on the Agora cryptomarket. Int. J. Drug Policy 35, 16–23 (2016)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  39. J. Aldridge, D. Decary-Hetu, Sifting through the net: monitoring of online offenders by researchers. Eur. Rev. Organised Crime 2(2), 122–141 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  40. H. Chen, Dark Web, Integrated Series in Information Systems, vol 30 (Springer, New York, 2012)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  41. N. Christin, Traveling the Silk Road: a measurement analysis of a large anonymous online marketplace (2012). https://doi.org/10.21236/ada579383

  42. M. Macdonald, R. Frank, J. Mei, B. Monk, Identifying digital threats in a hacker web forum, in 2015 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks Analysis and Mining (ASONAM) (2015), pp. 926–933

    Google Scholar 

  43. M. Wong, R. Frank, R. Allsup, The supremacy of online white supremacists – an analysis of online discussions by white supremacists. Inf. Commun. Technol. Law 24, 41–73 (2015)

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  44. K. Joffres, Disruption Strategies for Online Child Pornography Networks (Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, 2012)

    Google Scholar 

  45. A.I. Anapolskaya, Characterizing typical methods and traces of crimes related to illegal drug trade (in Russian). Eur. Union Sci.: Jurisprud. 8(17), 136–138 (2015), http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/harakteristika-tipichnyh-sposobov-i-sledov-soversheniya-prestupleniy-svyazannyh-s-nezakonnym-oborotom-narkotikov

  46. M.V. Kondratiev, V.K. Znikin, Operational investigative characteristics of crimes related to the illegal sale of drugs (in Russian). Bull. Kemerovo State University 1(61), 248–255 (2015), http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/operativno-rozysknaya-harakteristika-prestupleniy-svyazannyh-s-nezakonnym-sbytom-narkoticheskih-sredstv

  47. O.N. Korchagin, D.K. Chirkov, A.C. Litvinenko, Synthetic drugs in Russia as a threat to national security (in Russian). Actual Probl. Econ. Law 1(33), 245–253 (2015), http://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/sinteticheskie-narkotiki-v-rossii-kak-realnaya-ugroza-natsionalnoy-bezopasnosti

  48. A.V. Shebalin, Specifics of conducting a preliminary inquiry into illegal sales of drugs via noncontact methods (in Russian). Curr. Issues Fighting Crim. Other Offenses. 1, https://xn%2D%2D90ao9d.xn%2D%2Db1aew.xn%2D%2Dp1ai/science/Izdanija_BJUI_MVD_Rossii/Materiali_nauchno_prakticheskih_konferen/AKTUALNIE_PROBLEMI_BORBI_S_PRESTUPLENIJA

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Richard Frank & Alexander Mikhaylov

Authors
  1. Richard Frank
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alexander Mikhaylov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard Frank .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Dr. Mohammad A. Tayebi

  2. School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Dr. Uwe Glässer

  3. School of Computing, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Prof. David B. Skillicorn

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Frank, R., Mikhaylov, A. (2020). Beyond the ‘Silk Road’: Assessing Illicit Drug Marketplaces on the Public Web. In: Tayebi, M.A., Glässer, U., Skillicorn, D.B. (eds) Open Source Intelligence and Cyber Crime. Lecture Notes in Social Networks. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41251-7_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41251-7_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-41250-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-41251-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

search

Navigation