By Simon Mwangi,
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 30- The world commemorated the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking (IDADA) on Saturday. One of the main issues that came out during the celebrations is that there has been increased drug sales through the dark web.
These details are contained in the World Drug report and they point to a growing area of concern in the fight against drug abuse the world over. According to the report from mid-2017 to 2020 the amount of drugs trafficked through the dark web translate to 315 million dollars.
This is testament that traffickers are resorting to technology to enhance their activities, even as the world is leveraging on the same after the covid-19 pandemic. Drugs make up two thirds of all offers on the dark web.
Whether heroin, Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or cannabis, these illegal intoxicants can often only be found on a single platform. Payment is made with the crypto currency Bitcoin.
Public-private partnerships have become crucial in addressing drug trafficking on the Internet. The drug supply chain now involves Internet service providers, technology companies and shipping and mailing companies.
In September last year, the European police agency Europol and the US Department of Justice (USDOJ) announced that international law enforcement agents had carried out 179 search warrants and arrested more than 170 suspects in a coordinated operation targeting “vendors and buyers of illicit goods on the dark web.”
The operation, codenamed DisrupTor, netted some $6.5 million (€5.5 million) in cash and virtual currency, as well as weapons and 500 kilos of drugs such as cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone and methamphetamine.
Originally a niche medium of exchange for the technology community, Bitcoin emerged in 2011 as the currency of choice for drug dealers conducting transactions on a dark-web site known as the Silk Road.
Over the past five years, the combination of an encrypted network hidden from most of the world and a transactional currency that is nearly untraceable by law enforcement officials resulted in a small, but significant, marketplace of illicit vendors selling illegal wares.
Clearly, governments globally need to improve response to drug trafficking on the internet by forging public/private partnerships with internet service providers, technological companies, shipping and mailing companies.
Illicit or rogue Internet pharmacies are a recognized global public health threat that have been identified as utilizing various forms of online marketing and promotion, including social media. Illicit online pharmacy social media content for Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace remained accessible despite highly questionable and potentially illegal content.
The highlight of this year’s IDADA was the theme; Share Facts on Drugs, Save Lives which was aimed at spreading facts to fight misinformation regarding drug abuse.
As part of the theme, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) encourages everyone to share facts on drugs to help save the lives of those caught up in the trap of drugs and illicit trafficking.
Rising web-based sales could transform global drug use patterns and thus there’s urgent need to control the drug supply chain on the Internet by removing drug adverts and listings and sharing information with law enforcement.
Additionally, cryptocurrency markets need to be properly regulated even as electronic payments are monitored to detect suspicious transactions and illicit financial flows from drug trafficking.
On the flipside, Covid-19 has triggered innovation in drug prevention and treatment services.
This then means that players in the sector need to maintain COVID-19 adaptations to the delivery of drug-related services in order to increase accessibility and coverage of services.
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