Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50-100 times stronger than morphine. It is often mixed with heroin or cocaine to increase their potency, but this can also make them more dangerous. In recent years, there has been a surge in fentanyl-related overdoses and deaths, making it a major public health concern.
He originally tried street dealing but that didn’t make the money compared to the sort of worldwide potential customer base that he found on the dark Web. Fentanyl, in places like St. Louis (where I’m from) is actually starting to catch on as a drug unto itself. And it is so much stronger that longtime addicted users who don’t even get high on heroin anymore … With fentanyl, they can actually feel that feeling again of being high.
Darknet Markets and Fentanyl
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More recently, on April 14, 2023, OFAC and the DOJ sanctioned and charged individuals and entities who used cryptocurrency addresses to sell illicit fentanyl and other synthetic drugs. Wuhan Shuokang Biological Technology (WSBT) and Suzhou Xiaoli Pharmatech (SXPC) are two of these organizations. Based in China, these two chemical labs sold fentanyl precursors to brokers in Latin America, who sold them to drug cartels in Mexico. The drug cartels then created fentanyl products and shipped them into the U.S.
Darknet markets, also known as “cryptomarkets,” are online marketplaces that operate on the dark web. They are used to sell a wide range of illegal goods and services, including drugs. Fentanyl is one of the many drugs that can be found on these markets.
Silk Road was one such marketplace dedicated to creating a place in which buyers and sellers could operate independently and anonymously. Occasionally, international law enforcement agencies will seize marketplaces; you’ll get an FBI or INTERPOL homepage image when you try to access them notifying you of its seizure by LEOs. Search engines devoted to drugs like Cannahome list tens of thousands of substances across multiple marketplaces. Authors of the University of Texas study found almost 250,000 listings related to opioids on dark marketplaces, with over 28,000 product listings for opioids.
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Darknet markets are attractive to drug traffickers because they offer a level of anonymity and security that is not available on traditional online marketplaces. Transactions are typically conducted using cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, which makes it difficult for law enforcement to trace the flow of money. Additionally, many darknet markets use sophisticated encryption and other security measures to protect the identities of their users.
Among the original markets only Empire remained active at the end of 2019. In April 2019 they found three new markets – Agartha, Dream Alt and Samsara – were added after Wall Street and Valhalla were seized by law enforcement and Dream voluntarily closed. “When police seize and close down a market, or target a particular illicit product, the impact is complex and subtle.
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Which Darknet Markets Sell Fentanyl?
Every move you do online is being watched by them and you’ve got to be 100% that you’re maintaining your anonymity because one wrong slip-up of revealing just a tad too much information can have severe consequences. One impact is to foreground each drug being sold as a specific branded consumer product with pharmacological attributes that can be closely assayed. This process thus draws on and brings together people’s cumulative experiential and subcultural knowledge, in common with other online drug-focused forums that discuss not just the quality of each drug, but what the drug is to them as a categorical object [36]. Easier availability may reduce temptations to hoard [37], but tendencies towards vendors selling solely or at discounted rates in larger quantities may counteract that. The benefits of making large purchases means that purchases are often made with the intent of social supply [38]. Some cryptomarket users exhibit more isolated use patterns such as using MDMA/Ecstasy, cocaine and LSD alone [39].
There are many darknet markets that sell fentanyl, but some of the most popular ones include Dream Market, Wall Street Market, and Berlusconi Market. These markets have a wide selection of fentanyl-related products, including pure fentanyl powder, fentanyl-laced heroin, and fentanyl pills.
Opioids
It is important to note that buying drugs on the darknet is illegal and carries significant risks. Not only is there a risk of being caught by law enforcement, but there is also a risk of receiving a dangerous or mislabeled product. Additionally, many darknet markets are scams, and there is no guarantee that you will receive your order or that it will be what you expected.
- Fischer and Taylor sold other drugs on the darknet that they advertised as being legitimate, pharmaceutically, produced drugs.
- They might start feeling nauseous and sweating and chills, and vomiting and anxiety, and they crave their medication again.
- As observed in our data set, the top 3 marketplaces with the most opioid listings are Agora, Evolution, and Apollon.
- Quintana et al [16] and Fernando et al [17] presented the results of the international drug testing service for opioid commodities from the anonymous marketplaces and showed that most opioid substances contained the advertised ingredient and most samples were of high purity.
- In 2023 the dark web has over 2.5 million daily visitors, and it’s estimated that more than half of those visitors have participated in illegal activities.
- The agents left the room with his devices and didn’t come back for two hours.
Conclusion
The Postal Inspection Service is turning the tide against opioid dealers. Tracing illegal drugs back to the sources and shutting them down is the ultimate mission. One of the clues unearthed by the trawl of CyberBunker’s servers was related to the ownership of DarkMarket.
Fentanyl is a dangerous drug that can be found on many darknet markets. While these markets offer a level of anonymity and security, they are also illegal and carry significant risks. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, it is important to seek help from a qualified professional.