2 held for selling drugs in Delhi on ‘dark web’
RACKET BUSTED Peddlers procured and supplied drugs on the deep web, paid in Bitcoins; the drugs were supplied to rave parties in Delhincr; narcotics worth ₹3 lakh seized
NEWDELHI: With the arrest of two persons, the Delhi Police crime branch busted a network of drug peddlers involved in procuring drugs online through dark web, popularly known as invisible web or deep web, and supplying them to “rave parties” in DelhiNCR. The payment for the consignment was made in Bitcoin, police said.
Two members of the syndicate, including a disc jockey who plays music in rave parties in Delhi-ncr, have been arrested in the last one week with around 62 grams of ecstasy (MDMA), a psychotropic substance sold in tablets and powder form.
Those arrested were identified as Kamal Kalra, a DJ, and Mahesh Goyal, who attends rave parties and supplies drugs to Kalra. The value of the seized drug is around ₹3 lakh, police said on Monday.
Rajesh Deo, deputy commissioner of police (crime), said Goyal disclosed that the illegal online drug trade is done through “deep web”, which is the opposite term for surface web. Unlike surface web that is accessible to anyone using the Internet, the content of deep web is invisible and hidden behind HTML (hypertext markup language) forms. The deep web includes many very common uses such as web mail and online banking but it also includes services that users must pay for, and which is protected by a paywall
“This illegal business works on peer group model and it spreads from one user to another through word of mouth. Goyal had first consumed ecstasy at a rave party in Chennai and learnt that it can be procured through online shopping using websites like ‘dream market’ by operating in deep web accessed through browsers like ‘tor browser’ and ‘onion browser’,” said Deo.
“The payment for the consignment is done through ‘Bitcoin’ and the delivery is made by post and courier from countries such as the Netherlands and the US,” said Alok Kumar, joint commissioner of police (crime). Bitcoin is an international digital currency that enables individuals to transfer value to each other and pay for goods and services by-passing banks and the mainstream financial system. It is not recognised as legal tender in India. One bitcoin is equal to ~4,60,520, but the rate keeps fluctuating. Deep web also called dark web or invisible web are parts of the world wide web (www) whose contents are not indexed by standard search engines for any reason. The content is hidden behind HTML forms. It is the opposite term to the surface web, which is accessible to anyone using the Internet. The illegal online trade of drugs functions on ‘peer group’ model and is spread by word of mouth The user accesses deep web by downloading “TOR browser” or “Onion browser” and becomes eligible for the online drugs business.
Bitcoin is a digital currency that is not tied to a bank or government and allows users to spend money anonymously.
The Delhi Police have approached the narcotic control bureau (NCB) and ministry of electronics and information By visiting “Dream market” and
“Aplha Bay” sites, the user can place their order for desired drugs. A link is provided for payment in Bitcoin The user then visits sites where on payment of Indian currency the equivalent amount of Bitcion is paid on the link technology to ensure that such online trade and transactions are stopped. They are also probing how the supply of contrabands through couriers in India from other countries is going undetected and unchecked.
According to Deo, Kalra was The consignment of drugs is then delivered to the user through posts and couriers
The payment for the consignment is done through ‘Bitcoin’ and the delivery is made by post and courier from countries such as the Netherlands and the US.
ALOK KUMAR, joint commissioner of police (crime)
arrested on October 29 from Sector-13, Rohini with 100 pills of ecstasy, popularly known as yokes, MDMA and pills. Kalra’s interrogation revealed that he had procured the contraband from a man who contacted him and introduced himself with various names such as Sanjay and Utkarsh.
Police collected details of the user of the mobile number and later arrested Goyal from Dwarka. “Twenty grams of MDMA in raw form was seized from him,” said the DCP.