(The NCA, Home Office, and Metropolitan Police provided testimony and interviews for the report too). “The volume can be considered sufficiently high to be cause for concern for policy makers and law enforcement agencies” the report reads. WizardShop has solidified its status as one of the best data stores in the dark web by providing an impressive quantity of quality data as well as providing a trustworthy, easy to use interface allowing criminals easy and secure buying and selling. The first of its kind, a report from RAND Corporation details the ever-expanding role of the dark web in facilitating the sale of firearms, ammunition, and explosives. In addition to RAND, the report was compiled with the help of Judith Aldridge, a professor of criminology at the University of Manchester.
Gun Dealers
Some are looking for illegal stuff they can’t buy elsewhere, like drugs or counterfeit documents. It was the first big site where people could anonymously buy drugs using Bitcoin, and it gained a lot of attention, until it was shut down by the FBI in 2013. Illicit firearms also contribute to political conflict and instability in South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. The second-highest share of firearm-trafficking cases investigated by ATF was straw purchases, when someone buys a gun for a person who can’t get it legally themselves. 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.
- Police also say 3D printers and other devices are being used to either make guns, or create parts that turn some firearms into automatic weapons capable of firing many more rounds a minute.
- In their efforts to stop this illegal gun trafficking, federal agents often monitor social media to identify potential straw buyers.
- Using the darknet, deep web, and high-risk surface web data, DarkOwl analysts discovered multiple arms-centric marketplaces, vendor shops, and other classified-style advertisements for the sale of illegal firearms on the darknet.
- The guns were used in 368 shooting cases, which are harder to investigate because unlicensed dealers aren’t required to keep records of their sales that could allow federal agents to trace the weapon back to the original buyer, said ATF Director Steve Dettelbach.
- The data shows that up to 59.9 percent of the firearms sold across the 12 examined cryptomarkets originate from the US—the world’s largest exporter of conventional weapons.
Summary Of State Law
We offer free shipping worldwide, with 100% anonymous and secure delivery options. You can receive your package at any address, including GPS coordinates, parks, shopping centers, or PO Boxes. Accessing them may require .onion links and the Tor browser, but caution is advised due to legality and cybersecurity risks. Cybersecurity experts should pay close attention to these trends, as they often indicate emerging threats and profit-generating tactics among the cybercriminal forums. 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.

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.
Straw Buyers

By performing a keyword and language correlation analysis across drugs, weapons, and human trafficking related advertisements in DarkOwl Vision, our analysts discovered at least 7 unique vendors who are involved in human trafficking are also involved in drug trafficking activities. The flow of weapons from the United States to organized crime groups (as the indictment above indicates) such as CJNG can then be leveraged by criminal groups to trade for drugs in Colombia, which will travel to Mexico and the United States. Thus, weapons from the United States typically end up in Mexico and Colombia and Colombian drugs find their way back to the United States. The second, the official underscored, was by straw purchasers – individuals who buy guns from dealers and transfer them to prohibited persons.
Black Market Guns Tor Links onion Sites
Firearms trafficking is when guns are purposely moved into the illegal market for a criminal purpose or possession. The report ordered by Attorney General Merrick Garland is the first in-depth analysis of firearm trafficking investigations in more than 20 years. Guns purchased from unlicensed sellers are also an important source of guns diverted to the illegal market. Closing this loophole and requiring background checks on all gun sales can significantly reduce the number of guns that enter into the illegal market. One federal law enforcement agent, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly, told VICE News that cartels typically smuggle weapons into Mexico with the same routes and methods used to transport the cash proceeds from illicit drug sales. That often means using hidden compartments in vehicles ranging in size from small cars to tractor trailers, and bribing border guards to look the other way.

Weapons For Sale
Analysing the ‘supplier ID’ for an indication of the country of origin (e.g. ‘balkanweapons’, ‘dutchmarket’ and ‘USuser’). The most prevalent ‘ship to’ destination, from the same vendor over many cryptomarkets. Following a three-week trial, a federal jury in Minneapolis convicted five Minnesota men today for their involvement in the Highs — a violent Minneapolis street gang — and in gang-related…

Newsweek Contributors Debate: Are Trump’s Deportations Effective?
Some of these guns were stolen from their legitimate owners and resold, others were bought legally by Canadians and then offered for sale illegally for a profit. “It’s Toronto-specific that the crime guns, that the majority of them are domestic, predominately through straw purchasing,” Saunders says. A recent search for keywords including gun, Canada, Ontario and Toronto got 25 hits. All the firearms, from a specialized pistol to assault-style rifles, were apparently available for purchase and could be couriered to someone’s home. At Black Market Guns, we understand the challenges faced by individuals in countries with strict gun regulations. Our platform offers a groundbreaking solution, enabling you to purchase firearms without the need for an FFL, permit, or license.
Beginning in September 2021, Abacus Market has established itself as one of the leading dark web marketplaces. After AlphaBay closed, Abacus Market took its place as the world’s largest underground darknet marketplaces. Abacus Market quickly rose to prominence by attracting former AlphaBay users and providing a comprehensive platform for a wide range of illicit activities. Our team searched the dark web and put together a list of the most active dark web marketplaces in order to assist you in monitoring illegal trade of products, cybercrime activity, and dark web trends in the dark web space. To produce the NFCTA, the ATF assembled a team of subject experts from ATF, as well as from academic and related fields. Although ATF issues a variety of public and law enforcement reports and bulletins regarding firearm commerce, trafficking, and related issues every year, it has not undertaken a joint academic study on the scale of the NFCTA in more than 20 years.
Accessibility
The litigation is the work of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which alleges Armslist is “negligently facilitating illegal gun purchases through its website.” Armslist has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The spa mass shooting case went to Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, which ruled that Armslist was protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the same law that grants websites like Facebook, Google, and Twitter immunity from liability for content or comments posted by users. Villarreal had “knowledge of guns,” court records say, and while he made his home in the Texas city of McAllen, he had family on the other side of the border in Reynosa, which has long been plagued by drug cartel violence. In September 2020, seven guns that Villarreal flipped turned up at crime scenes in Reynosa.
Major Takeaways From The ATF’s First Report In 20 Years On US Gun Crime
The Biden administration has separately proposed a rule that would require thousands more gun sellers to get licensed and run background checks. The Justice Department says it’s aimed at sellers who are in the business of firearm sales, but the proposal quickly drew protest from gun-rights groups who contend it could ensnare regular people who sometimes sell their own guns. Gun trafficking and straw purchasing dangerously undermine states’ gun safety laws and drive the illegal firearms market.
Gun Licenses For Sale: South Africa’s Failing Firearms Control
For more information about these issues see our pages on Reporting Lost and Stolen Firearms and Bulk Gun Purchases. Led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, we inspire the courage of people from all walks of life to make America safer. Giffords seeks to arm activists, legislators, and the general public with the facts about our country’s gun violence epidemic and the most effective ways to address it. Pond pleaded guilty to the same charge as Villarreal and was sentenced last week to 48 months of probation. Pond agreed to surrender 114 pistols, rifles, and shotguns to federal authorities as part of his plea agreement.
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. 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.