The internet has increasingly been used for the illicit sale of internationally controlled narcotic
drugs, psychotropic substances, precursor chemicals and new psychoactive substances. Various
online platforms including social media networks and chat rooms are continually being used by
drugs traffickers to advertise and illicitly offer controlled substances for sale thereby gaining access
to new clients who may not have actively sought to purchase such substances.
In addressing this problem, law enforcement efforts are usually faced with various challenges within
their domestic legislative and policy framework. Examples include overly protective legal regimes
which limit access to computer data and electronic evidence by law enforcement officers within
some jurisdictions while others have weak internal and oversight mechanisms and limited resources
to respond to speedy online transactions usually conducted in more than one jurisdiction.
One of the new emerging trends after the 2009 Political Declaration has been the use of the
Internet, including the darknet, for trafficking purposes, notably for ecstasy, hallucinogens, cocaine,
ketamine and other synthetic drugs, less so for heroin and methamphetamine. Such trafficking
continues to take place despite of major international law enforcement successes in shutting down
some of the major trading platforms on the darknet, such as Silk Road (2013) and Silk Road 2.0
(2014).
In many countries the criminal justice system, including law enforcement, is still not in a position to
deal effectively with this challenge. Apart from practical problems such as the necessary technical
equipment and the availability of internet specialists who are also at ease with the language used in