Cryptomarket Vendors and Drugs: A Regional Analysis of The Online Illicit Drugs Trade

• In Event: IASOC Presents: Organized Crime Actors and Illicit Markets in Cyberspace

Abstract

This paper presents an original, geographical analysis of drug traffic and vendor profiles in contemporary cryptomarkets. Quantitative data gathered from a selection of the eight largest cryptomarkets currently in operation is used to build a region-specific profile of the online trade in illicit drugs, including variables such as drug prices, quantities sold, and refund policies. Customer feedback is also analysed, providing valuable information regarding sales frequency, reputations of vendors/products and the perceived purity of illicit drugs that are sold and distributed via cryptomarkets. This is supplemented with a more qualitative discussion of the locations and various languages that the cryptomarkets as a whole conduct their business in.

This data is analysed to address a range of region-specific questions concerning the online illicit drugs trade, including: what are the principal source countries for illicit drugs traded on cryptomarkets? Are online vendors located in particular regions perceived as more reliable than others? Are different cryptomarkets tied to particular geographical locations? How do these regional variations affect the nature and composition of different online drug markets? And do stated product sources impact their pricing and reported purity?

Authors

• James Martin, Macquarie University

• Jack Cunliffe, University of Kent

• David Décary-Hétu, University of Montreal

• Judith Aldridge, University of Manchester