Online Money Buying Real Drugs

The internet has made everything a lot easier. The technology and anonymity of the internet has eased a lot of things: shopping, communicating, dating (supposedly). It was only a matter of time before criminals took advantage of the virtual world. The Silk Road is a website selling real drugs virtually.

Anonymously connecting buyers with sellers of heroin, LSD and cannabis, the website has had to enlarge its servers to handle the increase in traffic since being exposed by mainstream media. The website is infuriating for Australian law enforcement for two reasons: first, with its base of operations overseas Australian Federal Police have no jurisdiction over it, and secondly, the use of a virtual currency, called Bitcoins, means there is no paper trail which would usually lead to suspects.

The best case scenario for the good guys is to increase monitoring of incoming online shopping mail. However with online shopping a $30 billion industry in Australia, it seems, at least in the short term, these new drug trafficking methods might prove too difficult to stop.

The downfall of the site could be the very thing that has made Ebay such a success – feedback. With customers exchanging money for goods they want guarantees, something that these online drug dealers can’t reliably provide. And of course there will always be the traditionalists who prefer the personal touch of buying from their local flesh-and-blood dealer.

[Via SMH]