Some sites will simply sate that their stealth precautions are robust and therefore good for the buyers but – but do not publicly more details. Others promise that they use the “best equipment” for the “highest stealth and security possible” – or reassure customers that they are experts in some other manner. According to UNODC, most of the drugs sold in the darknet ship from North America and Europe. The most common country of origin or country of shipment from greatest to least were listed as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, and Canada. The legitimacy of arms for sale on the darknet is widely debated by darknet communities. As is typical on the darknet, many state that any listings of weapons for sale on Tor are scams.
More From CBS News
CJNG is one of the strongest cartels currently operating in Mexico, and would require weapons to maintain their drug trafficking routes and control. Our analysts also found listings small arms for sale on darknet and deep web services similar to those seized by law enforcement from individuals charged with conspiring to traffic narcotics and firearms. The first is by private transactions in which guns bought at gun shows, flea markets or through private sales are later sold to prohibited persons. A 2019 survey conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) found that some 43 percent of criminals had bought their firearms on the black market, 6 percent acquired them via theft, and 10 percent made a retail purchase – 0.8 percent purchased a weapon from a gun show. Across a conference room table on the 35th floor of a Manhattan high rise were three agents with decades of experience investigating gunrunning and other crimes for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Connect With ABC News
In 2014, he was forced to flee after refusing to share the data of its Ukrainian users with the government. Prior to his expulsion, he’d developed Telegram to communicate with his brother, and now CTO, Nikolai, out of fear of government spying. About a third of the states have laws that prosecutors may use to penalize gun purchasers who intend to traffic the gun, in certain circumstances. To build a safer America—one where children and parents in every neighborhood can learn, play, work, and worship without fear of gun violence—we need you standing beside us in this fight. Armslist was born at a Fourth of July party in 2007, the brainchild of co-founders Jonathan Gibbon and Brian Mancini, then classmates at the U.S.
Loopholes In Gun Laws

Our platform simplifies the process for purchasing guns for sale even in regions with strict regulations. With a user-friendly interface, Black Market Guns offers a seamless journey from browsing to a completed anonymous gun purchase. Agent Mulham and the other two agents—John Curtis and Jason Zamaloff—all weighed in and agreed there is no precise formula for what handguns go for on the street, but basically guns are so readily available the black-market price is typically just a few hundred dollars more than retail. Harvard also debunked claims that Ukrainian arms were being sold to “Finnish gangsters, French rioters, Nigerian fighters, and Mexican cartels,” citing a report from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Dark Web Marketplaces
Its commitment to privacy, diverse product offerings, and robust security measures make it a preferred choice for users seeking discreet transactions within the darknet. A twelve-count indictment was unsealed today in the Eastern District of Virginia charging nine members of the Eastside Rollin’ 20s Crips (RTC) violent street gang with crimes including a drug… In May 2022, the Department issued Volume I of the NFCTA, Firearms in Commerce, which presents and analyzes data collected by ATF and other federal agencies related to the manufacture, exportation, and importation of firearms. In January of 2022 the Justice Department arrested four defendants in connection with an investigation targeting a domestic firearm trafficking organization that supplied weapons and ammunition to the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación. This is the type of exploitation and human trafficking commonly seen on the darknet. For example, many times listings for human trafficking victims on the darknet will be advertised as “escort services,” “child escort services,” “rentals,” “kid rentals,” and more.
The platform’s popularity continues to grow, attracting both new and returning customers. Valued at approximately $15 million, Abacus Market is one of the most lucrative platforms in the dark web ecosystem. In 2024, the platform grew significantly in popularity, partly because of its strategic acquisition of users from a number of recently shut-down marketplaces, such as AlphaBay and Incognito Market, which had recently closed their doors. Last year, the Bavarian State Criminal Police concluded that Munich rampage-shooter David Sonboly, 18, purchased a 9mm Glock 17 through a dark web marketplace. WASHINGTON — President Trump directed the Department of Justice to address the ongoing infringements of the Second Amendment rights of our citizens—all of them.
Similar Sites
DarkOwl analysts have previously released a report detailing the presence of alleged cartel-affiliated marketplaces on the darknet and detailed some of their product offerings including sophisticated concealed shipping. To address this crisis, governments and international organizations must collaborate on stricter regulations, technological advancements, and targeted enforcement efforts. By tackling the supply chains and loopholes that enable the illegal arms trade, we can take meaningful steps toward reducing the devastating impact of black-market guns on communities worldwide. In their efforts to stop this illegal gun trafficking, federal agents often monitor social media to identify potential straw buyers. The majority of the illegal guns in Canada used to be smuggled across the border from the U.S., but that seems to be changing. According to police, a growing number of guns are bought legally in Canada and resold on the black market, or made here illegally.
Federal Law Loopholes

Yet for all their efforts much of the illegal activity on the dark web remains beyond the reach of the police, and to some supporters of the dark web, its anonymity is its virtue. “Police officers on both sides of the Atlantic say the same thing,” says John Carr, an internet security advisor to the British government and the United Nations. They have now been destroyed by the lab as possession of DMT can lead to a jail sentence of up to seven years. It is not just a criminal domain, either – the dark web has proved a crucial tool in concealing the identity of political campaigners living in countries with oppressive governments. “You have the availability of multiple dealers so you can compare products – and customers can review the dealer’s product, too.” Building on this momentum, Telegram in March announced that channel owners would start to receive 50% of any revenue generated by ads in their channels, with all payments settled on TON.
Welcome to Black Market Guns, your premier destination for purchasing firearms, military weapons, and equipment online. Established in 2018, we have quickly become one of the most trusted anonymous retailers in the global firearms market. Our mission is to provide gun enthusiasts with a seamless and secure shopping experience, allowing you to buy firearms from the comfort of your home, no matter where you are in the world. Classic darknet markets sell diverse illegal goods; data stores focus on leaked or stolen data like credentials, databases, and ID records. Launched in 2023, STYX focuses on financial crime, providing stolen credit card data, hacked bank accounts and access to various cryptocurrency laundering tools.

Drug Trafficking And Weapons – Connections To Organized Crime And The Darknet

Gun trafficking is the process by which guns enter the black market and end up being used in crimes, while straw purchasing is a tactic where a person buys a gun on behalf of someone else, who is usually ineligible to purchase it. In contrast, Europe accounts for 23.6 percent of the gun sales, which is unsurprising given that most European countries have stricter gun-control laws than the US. In Germany, for example, anyone under the age of 25 is required to pass a psychiatric evaluation before buying a gun.
Newsletter Signup
This report is based on extensive research and fieldwork conducted in South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. The report examines the sources, markets, and types of firearms inflaming conflict and organized crime in the region. In South Africa, the exact numbers of weapons lost and stolen from government departments and agencies are unknown. There is little public oversight despite the fact that a number of these departments have a poor track record when it comes to monitoring and control over their firearms. Many ignore access to information and even parliamentary requests for data on lost and stolen firearms.
When ATF agents paid him a visit, Jump initially denied ever selling more than two guns at a time. Pond, however, had already shown the ATF text messages that proved Jump had sold him 14 guns in a single go just a few months earlier. Villarreal was “organized and detail-oriented,” and would “request specific makes, models, and calibers,” Pond said, according to court documents. Encrypted communications networks can serve as a work-around to traditional darknet marketplaces and facilitate single-vendor trade or “direct deals” by interfacing with users directly. Utilizing direct deals via encrypted chats give both buyer and seller more privacy, especially from law enforcement which has become more adept at infiltrating and shutting down darknet marketplaces dedicated to illicit drugs. Arguably, the most well-known source of revenue for organized crime is drug trafficking.
- Browse our extensive array of high-quality and dependable firearms, crafted for both enthusiasts and professionals.
- Tucker Carlson recently claimed that the Ukrainian military is selling a significant portion of the weapons it receives from the United States, even suggesting that some have ended up in the hands of Mexican cartels.
- CJNG is one of the strongest cartels currently operating in Mexico, and would require weapons to maintain their drug trafficking routes and control.
- Green and Winchester were only caught after the guns they purchased and resold were found at crime scenes and identified.
- The analysis reinforces the critical importance of ATF’s unique crime gun tracing authority and highlights the value of data from ATF’s NIBIN program.
- Our online gun store offers only brand new firearms and equipment, rigorously tested for quality and reliability.
Sign Up For The Week’s Free Newsletters
The Abacus Market links to the new dark web marketplace sections and took over much of the vacuum left by the AlphaBay takedown. There’s also a privacy angle—some users live in countries with censorship or surveillance, and the dark web gives them a space to communicate or access information more freely. The second category consists of data stores, which specialize in stolen information. Telegram channels supplement traditional onion sites, blurring lines between the dark web sites and more mainstream communication tools. In 2023, the dark web attracted an average of 2.7 million daily users, with Germany now leading as the country with the highest number of Tor users, surpassing the United States for the first time in years.
Increased oversight of gun dealers is critical to prevent irresponsible and dangerous transfers of firearms. Giffords Law Center works in all 50 states to change policies and challenge injustice. We won’t rest until every state has strong gun safety laws and every community is free from the fear of gun violence. Five of the seven Reynosa guns had a “time-to-crime” of one week or less, the ATF found, meaning only a matter of days passed between Pond buying the weapons in the U.S. and they turned up in Mexico. Court records don’t indicate how the weapons were transported across the border or who exactly was buying them from Villarreal in Reynosa. In Villarreal’s case, the ATF was able to trace several of the guns found in Reynosa back to a 49-year-old Oklahoma City man named Richard Pond, who records showed had bought 221 guns over the previous two years.
One of the many questions I wanted to answer in my book The Future of the Gun is where criminals really get guns. Department of Justice, more than 100 people had been charged with illegal firearm trafficking and straw purchasing. Gun traffickers transfer guns from legal commerce to illegal commerce and are considered to be violent criminals.