Darknet takedowns disrupt drugs markets

'Wall Street' in April 2019 - Dark web takedowns by cross-border law enforcement operations have a significant impact on the availability of opioids, in particular the lethal drug fentanyl, according to a new report from The Australian National University (ANU). The report, commissioned by the Australian Institute of Criminology's (AIC) Serious and Organised Crime Research Laboratory, analysed the impact of law enforcement seizures and darknet market closures, including the availability of highly potent synthetic opioids fentanyl and carfentanil.  "When police seize and close down a market, or target a particular illicit product, the impact is complex and subtle. Our research shows seizures and shutdowns caused drugs to become less available," lead researcher Emeritus Professor Roderic Broadhurst, from the ANU Cybercrime Observatory, said.  "The markets response to law enforcement can be seen to be like the game whack-a-mole, with markets popping up somewhere else if one is closed down. And when they pop up again, they are reshaped.  "We found evidence that shutdowns resulting from transnational police operations dispersed and displaced markets, vendors and buyers, and it also reduced the availability of these drugs and their prices on the markets."  The researchers collected data over 352 weekdays, from 2 January to 20 December 2019, looking at eight "high street" darknet markets. The markets, which sell a variety of contraband including illicit drugs, included Apollon, Empire, Dream, Nightmare, Tochka (aka Point), Berlusconi, Valhalla (aka Silkitie) and Wall Street.