Increased Dark Web Activity In Austria

According to a report by the media outlet tt.com, illegal dark net activity in Austria had increased.

Unlike on the clearnet (the normal part of the internet), dark web users do not connect to the Tor network via a central server, but via intermediaries. The Tor browser provides anonymity to the users by arranging a secure connection and the constant change of servers. This feature helps citizens in oppressed countries to access websites that are banned, however, it also makes law enforcement’s job more difficult.

When Austrians download and install the Tor browser, they do not do it because of political reasons. They use Tor to access dark net markets, the report says. Dark web marketplaces were always go-to places for criminal activities.

“We recorded a clear increase in the last year”, prosecutor Hansjörg Mayr from the Drugs Unit of the Prosecution said.

According to Mayr, addicts in the country commonly use the dark net to order narcotics. The purchase of synthetic substances had seen an increase in Austria. However, police experience difficulties in the prosecution of dark net drug dealers and buyers.

“While the activities in the Darknet are difficult to trace, such deliveries usually occur at the post office or customs office,” Mayr added.

The prosecutor said when a narcotics package is intercepted early, law enforcement authorities surveil the customer until his arrest. Ecstasy and amphetamines are the most popular substances ordered in the country, according to Mayr.

Last week only, two dark net drug-related court trials took place in the country. In both cases, the accused were Tyroleans, who ordered narcotics from the dark web to cover their needs.

“I was just so addicted to XTC that I even took it to watch TV!” one of the suspects said during the court trial. The 30-year-old had such an asthma attack after he took speed that he flushed the remaining 200 grams in the toilet. The other suspect, a 26-year-old also used bitcoins to buy narcotics from the dark net. Just as the other Tyrolean, he admitted his ecstasy addiction. The accused added that a part of his orders never arrived.

The punishment in both cases was quite mild due to the addictions of the suspects. One of them were fined with 2,400 euros while the other was sentenced to six months of conditional imprisonment and a fine of 3,600 euros.

In December, Austrian law enforcement authorities arrested three men in Vöcklabruck for running a vendor shop on the dark net. According to police information, the trio was in business from September 2015 to November 2016. Two suspects from the group, a 47-year-old and a 20-year-old, allegedly sold about one kilogram of amphetamines to customers. The vendor group dealt in bulk orders of speed and allegedly shipped 10 to 11 orders. Each package contained at least 100 grams of amphetamines, police claim. According to authorities, the customers of the vendor group were also narcotics dealers who purchased the drugs for resale purposes. Police also added that the suspects financed their own addictions from the profits they made.