But once you start doing illegal things, like buying drugs or stolen credit cards, that’s when you’re breaking the law. Just visiting the dark web, or using a tool like Tor, isn’t illegal in most countries. Others are looking for stolen data, hacking services, or even banned books and political content. Some are looking for illegal stuff they can’t buy elsewhere, like drugs or counterfeit documents. It’s been a constant back-and-forth between cybercriminals and law enforcement, with each new site trying to be smarter and more secure than the last. It was the first big site where people could anonymously buy drugs using Bitcoin, and it gained a lot of attention, until it was shut down by the FBI in 2013.
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Given that attribution on the darknet is difficult, the cartel sites listed above could very easily be scams. Advertised geographical indicators can provide potential associations of the products offered with a particular cartel, such as the Sinaloa region and the Sinaloa cartel being famous for their high-quality cocaine. Earlier this year, another prominent darknet drug vendor, Ausline, recently established their own vendor shop offering drugs for purchase and shipments in Australia and New Zealand. The contact information for the Los Urabenos marketplace references an encrypted chat application account for CDG cartel, which likely refers to the cartel’s more recent designation, Clan del Golfo (Gulf Cartel). The market offers a handful of products for sale with tagged photos including, Fishscale Colombian cocaine 90%+ and Dutch MDMA champagne crystals 84%, and stated they used to trade on Darkfox and DarkMarket prior to the decentralized marketplaces’ seizure. The Los Urabenos Cartel – a power criminal and neo-paramilitary group from Colombia – offers their services for hire on Tor and specializes in the sale of high-quality pure cocaine on their marketplace.
- The company, “Tailored their precursor recommendations … and would suggest alternative chemicals if one was not available.”
- It’s part of the fentanyl component,” said the lab coordinator in Culiacán.
- However, authorities have observed a rise in nitazenes – a class of synthetic opioids, with some analogues up to 43 times more potent than fentanyl.
- Tusi is gaining significant popularity across Latin America, but the market in Mexico is still emerging.
- Amid a fresh wave of violence, however, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has faced pressure from her U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, to crack down on cartel violence and drug trafficking.
The second site, The Sinaloa Cartel Marketplace, advertises a variety of products including drugs and hitmen for hire. This suggests the marketplace could be a front for other criminal activities or a law-enforcement sponsored honeypot. Many of these categories are found on traditional darknet marketplaces, but this market includes the option to purchase human organs and services for hire.
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Sellers work with middlemen in different countries who redistribute the chemicals internally. They rent out multiple properties or use third-party addresses to receive the chemicals, so that if one address is compromised, the rest of the shipments can still reach their destination. In addition, these products are often wrapped in multiple layers of plastic and paper, which not only helps protect them from possible damage during transport, but also makes them difficult to detect by X-ray scanners or trained dogs. One of the main strategies employed is the use of subtle packaging that disguises the products as everyday items.
The reason, according to the seller, was that it had a better price and higher quality, which they claimed was “an improvement” on the previous substances used to manufacture fentanyl. So, we turned to Chinese chemical companies operating on the clearnet and dark web to see if we could find this information. Drug testing initiatives in the United States have also increasingly detected high concentrations of bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl) sebacate, or BTMPS, in fentanyl samples. And in an April 2024 study, conducted with researchers from Mexico’s National Institute of Psychiatry (Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría), these organizations reported that 20% of the fentanyl samples analyzed in both cities contained xylazine.
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It is also possible that production networks sourced xylazine from abroad. For example, the synthetic drug lab coordinator we interviewed in Culiacán explained that his production cell obtained xylazine through contacts at rodeos in rural Sinaloa. The mixture reportedly allowed producers to compensate for the fentanyl shortage they were temporarily facing while still producing a substance with a depressant effect.
What Drugs Do The Cartels Traffic?
Dark web drugs market operators and vendors are aware of the increased law enforcement scrutiny and seizure efforts that arise from stocking fentanyl – resulting in many banning them outright. Through our multiple exchanges, we were also able to ascertain that they were willing to entertain all kinds of requests, including bulk orders exceeding 25 kilograms of precursor chemicals for the production of fentanyl. In their follow-up, they peddled more chemicals vital to the production of fentanyl, including N-(tert-Butoxycarbonyl)-4-piperidone (also called 1-boc-4-piperidone), a pre-precursor. That was because the Chinese chemicals in question are the chemical precursors for fentanyl, among many other synthetic drugs.
Experimenting With New Synthetic Drugs
Since 2018, his administration has launched an anticorruption drive and disrupted cartel finances. His “hugs, not bullets” approach seeks to address the socioeconomic drivers of organized crime by creating job opportunities. Experts attribute this to the continued fallout from the kingpin strategy, territorial feuds, and cartel fragmentation.
Darknet Cartel Associated Marketplaces
Marvel at the iconic symbol of Mexico City, the Angel of Independence monument, which stands tall in the heart of the city. Whether you’re a foodie, an art enthusiast, or simply seeking adventure, the city has it all. As the sun sets, the city transforms into a bustling haven of lights, energy, and endless entertainment options. • While beef exports to Mexico were steady with last year in volume (40,048 mt), value climbed 13 percent to $197.9 million. Following a record-shattering 2018, beef exports to Korea continue to push higher, though at a more moderate pace.
To be sure, the mixing of xylazine with fentanyl could occur at any stage of the supply chain and has likely been happening in the US fentanyl market for several years, particularly at the retail level. Among them was Hanhong Medicine Technology Company, which US authorities accuse of sending xylazine and fentanyl precursors to “a drug trafficker in the Sinaloa Cartel.” According to the press release, Mexico was one of their most profitable markets.
This illegal fuel enters the legitimate market through gas stations that often unknowingly purchase it. For decades, fuel theft in Mexico involved criminals physically tapping pipelines owned by Pemex, the state-run oil company. The scale of this black market economy, known locally as “huachicoleo,” is massive. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in 2019 that he shut down some pipelines to stop fuel thieves who he says have established an illegal distribution network.
- No, black market websites operate illegally and pose high risks of scams, fraud, and law enforcement action.
- Cybercriminals gather on dark web stores to buy and sell illegal goods and stolen data.
- The map shows the market day for major markets, and the major weekly marketing cycles, in the area around the city of Oaxaca.
- Tor is a browser that allows for anonymous communication and it is the most common form of accessing the dark web.
Second, learning to produce fentanyl required little more than access to a recipe, with no need for advanced knowledge of chemistry. While their prohibition did not entirely stop production in the state, it significantly raised the barriers to entry. And for the first time in more than a decade, fentanyl overdose deaths in the United States fell, decreasing by roughly 17% in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Cryptomarkets, social supply and drug market violence. Impact of Dark Web markets on total crime per 100,000 persons (coverage indicator 99 %+). Impact of Dark Web markets on total crime per 100,000 (full sample 1990–2017). Anything can be faked on the darknet, so all of the above marketplaces could easily be fakes created to increase their ‘authenticity,’ while scamming people and stealing their money for orders that are never fulfilled.
The rapid expansion of 5G networks and data-intensive services in this region have significantly driven dark fiber deployment. As more enterprises in Mexico transition to digital and cloud-based infrastructures, the demand for dark fiber networks is expected to increase, driving further growth in the market. These collaborations are accelerating the deployment of dark fiber, facilitating the expansion of 5G networks, and supporting the growing demand for data services. The rising demand for secure and scalable network solutions is, therefore, a key driver of the dark fiber network market in Mexico, as organizations look to future-proof their connectivity infrastructure.
This alignment meant selling only to approved buyers, meeting production quotas, and investing more in security to protect against rival groups – an issue they did not face in Culiacán before the ban. The producers we interviewed said migrating required “aligning” with one of these groups. However, operating in highly volatile territories with constant competition among different criminal organizations meant sacrificing independence.
Sip on delicious cocktails while enjoying panoramic vistas of the city beneath your feet. Enjoy live music, sip on craft cocktails, and dance the night away in the city’s best clubs and bars. Take a guided night tour of this historic landmark and enjoy breathtaking views of the city skyline from its hilltop location. Experience the city in a unique way by joining a night bike tour.
