THE DARKER WIDER NET
| Date :19-Sep-2023 |
By Kartik Lokhande
On January 31, 2020, the agencies nabbed a hotel management graduate Dipu Singh from Lucknow. The investigations soon led the cops to Nagpur, from where three persons were arrested in February that year. What connected these four people was a narcotics trade operated on the ‘dark web’. As the agencies told media then, Dipu Singh used to secure orders for psychotropic drugs like Tramadol on dark web, pass on those to the trio in Nagpur. The trio would use their shipping contact in Singapore, which would ship these drugs to the US and UK. What should be of concern for Nagpur? Dipu Singh’s arrest was dubbed as country’s first arrest of the narcotics vendor on the dark web, and related intermediaries. As per the details shared with media by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) then, the accused arrested from Nagpur included Sachin Makade, who was Director of a pharmaceutical company dealing in sale and supply of drugs relating to treatment of sexual ailments; Barun Chauhan, an MBA graduate; and Tejas Patel, a college dropout. Singh would get orders for psychotropic drugs like Tramadol on dark web portals such as Empire Market and Majestic Garden. As the investigations revealed, he was listed as a ‘vendor’ on two dark net markets. He used to secure orders, process those to the Nagpur-based trio through WhatsApp, who would arrange shipment of the contrabands to the buyers through shipping contacts in Singapore. These contrabands were supplied in the name of medicines related to treatment of sexual ailments, fitness supplements, or health products. The NCB had seized a total of 91,000 tablets of various psychotropic substances, and over 135 kg of loose tablets. As per the agency’s assessment, the prime accused had supplied 600 consignments of drugs using the dark net. This should be enough to indicate the scale of the operations.
Ordinary people think that the webspace they are operating in is endless. But, they are operating only in ‘surface web’. There is much bigger part of the Internet that is called ‘dark web’ or ‘deep web’ or ‘dark net’. As the name suggests, it is the shady underworld where terrorists, narco-traders, data-sellers, hackers, bitcoin dealers, and other forces operate -- some to operate clandestinely, and Intelligence and security agencies to catch them. As the above-cited case indicates, Nagpur is not far away from phenomenon. Though the case relating to Nagpur was the first one in the country, it was not an isolated one in the country. In 2022, NCB arrested 22 persons including software engineers, financial analyst, an MBA graduate while busting a nation-wide drugs trafficking network that operated on the dark net and used cryptocurrency/ bitcoins to deliver narcotics to homes or locations listed by the buyers. These arrests exposed three major dark net marketplaces -- DNM India, Dread, and The Orient Express. This investigation spanned Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan Punjab, Delhi, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Karnataka. This network was found to have been delivering LSD blots, heroin, paste, liquid cannabis, cocaine, psychotropic tablets that gave a ‘high’ etc. Interestingly, they used regular courier services too. According to sources, with the advent of technology and tech-savvy younger generation’s penchant for ‘exploring the unexplored’ layers of the Internet, it has become easier for such operators. Apart from vulnerable youngsters ordering these online, sources said, the possibility of dark net operators also making use of the system cannot be denied. For, it is very difficult to trace.
More recently, a narcotics market on the dark net was busted. Those involved used social media accounts to spot potential buyers, befriended them, secured orders, processed those on the dark net, used cryptocurrency and even UPI and fake KYC documents, supplied the drugs through courier services and home delivery networks. In this inter-connected world, it is highly possible that the on-line networks are being used by key players in Nagpur. It is not unlikely that these key players are just pawns in the wider network of narcotics trade. A senior officer, who was previously with NCB, explained that there were three types of trading networks in narcotics. One was human-to-human network wherein supplier to consumer flow of narcotics took place through phone contacts and transfer of money to bank accounts or cash dealings. Another network operated through social media apps used for calling and conversation. These apps included ‘Telegram’, ‘Wickr Me’ private messenger, ‘Instagram’ etc. The operators connect with each other through these apps to secure orders, and serve the consumers by way of doorstep delivery of ‘stuff’. The third one operated on dark web and involved big deals, with payment done in cryptocurrency or through different payment gateways as those offer anonymity, confidentiality and helped the operators remain undetected to a large extent from enforcement agencies. However, all these mainly target the young crowd, which is tech-savvy.
The access to dark web through ‘The Onion Router’ or TOR -- via a special browser on the Internet which makes it almost impossible to physically locate the computers hosting or accessing websites on the network -- is becoming easy as softwares used for such an access are available for free on the Internet. The youths in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and such big places in Maharashtra are using dark web to order drugs and get those delivered at the locations of clandestinely organised rave parties or locations of popular ‘pool parties’ in some of the farm houses on the outskirts of the city. “However, this human intelligence has to have some kind of evidence or digital trail for the agencies to take action,” said a source. Speaking of youngsters, the drugs network is spread on the hostels too, where students are targeted. A social worker, wishing to remain anonymous, cited a case. A student from a well-to-do family, who did not smoke, started smoking when he went to college. Because, fellow students taunted him of being a ‘sissy’ (effeminate or timid boy). Out of peer pressure, he started smoking. However, gradually, some of his influences started using the ‘weed’, and the situation deteriorated further. The student had to undergo therapy later on, to come out of the situation. In a reputed technical education institution of the city, the administration had taken action against around 100 students in its hostel a few months ago as they were found to be engaging in ‘use of addictive substances’ including alcohol. The administration even collected fine from them.
Narcotics come to Maharashtra from two directions -- ‘Ganja’ through road route from Odisha and through sea route from the Arabian Sea. As far as sea route is concerned, a former senior police officer who had worked in that area, said that drug traffickers offered to pay heavy sums to those in-charge of the merchant ships for allowing ‘stuff’ (mostly synthetic drugs in the form of powder or tablets) carried in launches to mid-sea to be uploaded into the containers of such ships, for transportation to ports in Gujarat and Mumbai. “As even the port operators cannot check what is in each and every container arriving from sea, it becomes difficult for enforcement agencies to detect such clandestine consignments, which take only one corner of one container to be hidden. It is challenging unless there is a specific tip,” he said. The agencies have been facing newer challenges posed by those engaged in shady world of drugs. They are trying their best to collect human as well as electronic intelligence to take specific actions. However, as an officer pointed out, it needs a focussed action for which technologically well-trained, resourceful manpower is provided locally. The decision of setting up Anti-Narcotics Task Force is a good step, but it will need to be integrated well with the local Anti-Narcotics Cell as well as Cyber Cell. Concerted action is needed from citizens also. For, a lot depends on it as far as future of younger generation, the demographic dividend of the country, is concerned.