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"Drugs on the Dark Net explores the rapidly expanding world of online illicit drug trading. Following the closure of the infamous online drugs bazaar Silk Road, a new generation of cryptomarkets may now be found thriving amongst the hidden corners of theinternet. Defying the world's most powerful law enforcement agencies, these encrypted websites facilitate distribution networks that reach around the globe, and are capable of delivering any type of illicit drug directly to your front door.This original criminological research offers an in-depth and non-technical account of the online illicit drugs trade. Cryptomarkets are revealed to be sophisticated hubs of commercial innovation, as well as resilient online communities of black marketeers, drug consumers and political activists. Analysis of online distribution networks indicates that they are highly efficient, extraordinarily difficult to police and, intriguingly, have the potential to reduce much of the systemic violence associated with the illicit drugs trade.Examining the future of the illicit drugs trade and the new digital front in the 'war on drugs', this study provides a timely and insightful contribution to our understanding of illicit drugs, technology and cybercrime"--
List of contents
Introduction 1. Conceptualising Cryptomarkets 2. Cryptomarket Operations 3. Conventional vs. Online Drug Distribution Networks 4. Cryptomarkets and Law Enforcement Conclusion and Future Directions
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"This is a timely, topical and fascinating study that sheds much-needed light into the dark recesses of the Internet. Through an exploration of online cryptomarkets, Martin offers new insights into the globally shifting landscape of crime. It should be essential reading for all those interested in cybercrime, the trade in illicit drugs, and the impact of new technologies on criminal markets". - Professor Majid Yar, University of Hull, UK
"Drugs on the Dark Net is a must read for anyone concerned with online collective behavior and its implications for governance, policing and the very discipline of criminology. This beautifully written book makes clear that the concepts and language we use to understand the virtual drugs trade lag behind the mentalities and practices of those involved. Providing an important extension to analyses of 'nodal governance', Martin adds richness and nuance to our understanding of drug-related harms, online vendor-consumer relations, and the modes of self-regulation that protect and give meaning to these relations. Although law enforcement has had some 'wins' in this area, the very nature of these communities, and their resilience, is transforming policing as we know it." - Jennifer Wood, Associate Professor, Temple University, USA
"This book is a mind expanding . . . exploration of a high tech illicit market place that is essential reading for police, academics and the public at large." - Mark Lauchs, Associate Professor, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
