It has been known that the dark web is laden with numerous portals of criminal cartels selling illegal drugs, malware, hitman services, or weapons. Although recently, dark web researchers have found some newly emerged Mexico-based criminal marketplaces claiming to be the online portals for these malicious trades.
The researchers listed some of these malicious online portals they have found and noted that these marketplaces have been recently revamped to introduce new features and user interfaces.
First, the list includes the notorious ‘Cartel de Sinaloa’ or the CDS Market. This marketplace sells illegal drugs, weapons, malware, chemicals, hitman, and money laundering services. Also included in the list was the ‘Cartel Gulf Texas,’ operated by Sinaloa-affiliated gangs and offers drug shipment services from Texas to anywhere in the world.
Another one listed was the ‘Los Urabenos’, which sells cocaine and hitman services. ‘Cartel Jalisco Nuevo Generation (CJNG) was the fourth on the list, which is also a trader for bulk cocaine selling worldwide and accepts crypto coins for payments. Lastly, the ‘Ausline’ marketplace is another cocaine seller associated with the Scorpion Cartel in Colombia and mostly offers its items to clients in Australia and New Zealand.
Experts warn that these criminal cartel online portals could be scam campaigns to steal money from people.
Interested customers of these illegal services should be extra wary since the dark web promises no safety for anyone, mainly because of its unlawful environment. Thus, experts believe that the presence of all criminal portals on the dark web may not hold true and instead are scam sites to trick people into purchasing items and services that do not exist.
Furthermore, many law enforcement agencies have also launched entrapment operations on the dark web to catch consumers of illegal goods and services. Thus, it is not wise to engage in such transactions.
The recent closure of large decentralised drug dealing groups has contributed to the sudden surge and appearances of several smaller criminal cartel online portals on underground forums. Previously, some of the prominent drug-based dark web marketplaces that authorities had shut down include the Versus Market, Hydra, Cannazon, and Empire.
Since these large illegal service groups have become absent, many smaller drug vendors, like the ones mentioned above, have established their online portals on the dark web to leverage the situation and sell their goods and services to interested clients.
