The dark web and the purchasing of drugs is a popular combination that has significantly increased. The US Navy has now noticed its lingering presence among staff, and they are watching.
Dark Web With A Dark Reputation
The dark web has a dark history. Often illustrated as the other end of the iceberg—while the internet as most people know it is its tip—the dark web is a space rife with illegal activity. From child sexual abuse content to gruesome murder videos, the dark web teems with activity of the human psyche’s shadow. But one of its most sought-after features is the market for guns, drugs, and more.
Fascinatingly, the US government originally created the dark web to allow spies to anonymously exchange information. Thus, there was a time when the dark web was a tool aiding homeland security. However, it is now often associated with criminality and often creepy material.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, it comes as no surprise that the sale and order of drugs through the dark web has increased. Research shows rising consumption of drugs, especially psychedelics, during the lockdown. Therefore, people have taken to the internet to acquire the substances they desire. If you can buy food online while being in self-isolation, why not buy MDMA too, right?
LSD Bought by US Navy Members
The Independent recently published an article exposing how this increase has not gone unnoticed by officials, especially in the US Navy. According to the article, the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) has noticed incremental growth in Navy personnel buying, using, and distributing LSD.
The motives regarding Navy personnel’s consumption and acquisition of illicit substances are unclear. But NCIS has expressed its desire to crack down on service members, even to the point of rewarding informants.
A recent Navy memo addressed sailors who believe they can anonymously purchase LSD while using cryptocurrencies, such a bitcoin. NCIS is confident that their investigative techniques can identify both purchasers and sellers.
A Dark Past
Although law enforcement is prepared to deal with these crimes, the US Navy already has a history of tackling this type of challenge. Back in 2018, several sailors pleaded guilty to charges involving possessing and distributing illegal drugs, including LSD.
An article published by Navy Times revealed that Philip S. Colegrove, a machinist’s mate in nuclear power, pleaded guilty to distributing LSD and MDMA in Tokyo, Yokohama, and the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan’s homeport of Yokosuka from January 2017 to February 2018. These misdeeds occurred within the Reagan’s nuclear department.
NCIS has explained to The Independent that the risks to sailors of buying drugs on TOR—software for enabling anonymous communication—include not only encountering dangerously tainted substances, but also the risk of falling foul of law enforcement agencies, both international and local.
NCIS expects to continue its investigation, and is counting on the honesty of its comrades in uniform. As added incentive, they will in addition be rewarded for producing evidence of criminal wrongdoing.
