SEOUL, July 26 (AJU PRESS) - Prosecutors have indicted drug dealers and distributors after uncovering a dark web store with about 4,000 buyers, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (SPO) said Friday.
The dark web is a clandestine part of the internet, consisting of websites inaccessible through common browsers or search engines. Due to its anonymity, it is often used for the illegal trade of goods and services including firearms, drugs, stolen items, and even human trafficking.
The SPO said that it nabbed 16 traders of various types of marijuana including extract cartridges for vaping devices, worth about 860 million won ($620,490). Some 12 suspects have been detained.
They operated the clandestine site selling narcotics. Sellers paid 1.5 million won to register their products on the site, and buyers paid for products with cryptocurrency. Deliveries were made by dropping off products in locations where buyers could collect them later. Store operators received about 20 percent of the transaction fees as a commission.
The site had a review section where buyers could leave feedback on their purchased products. A total of 13 crime groups sold drugs through the site, which had 3,932 subscribers.
The SPO said that the investigation took about 10 months and uncovered 759 transactions generated over the last two years. About 900 million won worth of drugs sold through the site were smuggled from foreign countries, while other products like marijuana and synthetic marijuana were produced in Korea.
"The drug market that was centered around the dark web has now partially moved to social media platforms like Telegram," said an investigator from the SPO.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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