The legislation, which aims to make it easier to prosecute those involved in the illicit tobacco trade, is more of the same: punitive, but still not effective.
- Associate Professor in Criminology, Deakin University
Right now, based on market share, organised crime effectively is Big Tobacco in Australia.
Where there’s demand, there will be supply, legal or not. From the ‘sly grog’ of the 1920s to the illicit vapes of today, getting regulation right is difficult.
The alleged kingpin of Australia’s illicit tobacco trade has been arrested - does this mean the end of the so-called ‘tobacco wars’?
Fuelling these shopfronts is a thriving black market and a flawed policy approach. It’s time for viable, effective solutions.
Black markets tend to attract established organised crime groups, which have the capacity to use violence to enforce contracts, collect debts and threaten competitors.
The cybercrime ecosystem is vast and complex – and increasingly littered with specialists who will cheaply sell your data.
Unlike the US, Australia hasn’t yet been hit by a large-scale disinformation campaign focussed on meddling with elections. But this is a ‘realistic prospect’ moving forward.
These online spaces are more regulated than many media reports would have you believe. And the vast majority of dark web traders are steering clear of exploiting the pandemic.
The illicit drug trade is thriving on the dark web because it’s seen as safer and more profitable than street dealing, according to encrypted interviews with people who sell drugs online.
Let’s take claims about the value of drug seizures with a grain of salt.
Despite the growth in darknet drug trading in Australia, there are important reasons why it is less harmful than street drug dealing.
Recent media reports have once again put the public spotlight on cryptomarkets, the eBay-style websites operating on the encrypted dark net. They facilitate a vast and anonymous global trade in black market…
Alex Oates’ debut Fringe play traces the journey of 19-year-old Geordie lad Bruce, as he begins dealing cocaine via the illicit online marketplace Silk Road. Under the guise of a coming of age drama, the…
In October 2013, US authorities shut down Silk Road, the world’s largest cryptomarket. At the time, prosecutors claimed that the closure of the so-called “eBay of illicit drugs” represented the beginning…
The recent closure of illicit drugs website Silk Road by the FBI has been hailed as a decisive blow in the fight against organised crime and another victory in the global War on Drugs. Although a minor…
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