Thread by @Narcomania

Finally I can reveal what I’ve been working on since leaving Vice earlier this year...🧵 1/12

Russia has developed a unique drug trade model combining darknet markets, cryptocurrency payments and physical ‘dead drops’, which now dominates its illegal drug economy 2/12

It is one of the biggest shifts in the global drug trade I’ve seen in 25 years of reporting on the subject. It could be a prototype for the future of the drug trade in many parts of the world 3/12

In Russia this model has given rise to a new breed of tech-savvy organized crime group, operating large- scale darknet platforms that help facilitate drug production, marketing and distribution 4/12

The system has shifted drug consumption patterns in Russia, with locally produced synthetic stimulants like mephedrone and alpha-PVP becoming increasingly prevalent 5/12

Despite its anonymised, digital nature, this model has significant real-world impacts, including high incarceration rates for low-level operatives, organized violence against employees and emerging public health concerns 6/12

Russian authorities have largely failed to effectively combat these darknet markets and their operators, focusing instead on low-level arrests of drug couriers 7/12

This drug trade model is expanding beyond Russia’s borders, particularly to countries with strict anti-drug regimes, potentially signalling a shift in global illicit drug markets 8/12

Russian soldiers in Ukraine are using it to buy drugs on the frontline. The model has also taken hold in other countries bordering Russia including Georgia and has also gained a foothold in South Korea 9/12

The growing incidence of this system challenges conventional understanding of darknet markets and their impact on drug economies, demonstrating their potential to reshape entire national drug landscapes 10/12

Want to know more? Download the research report I co-wrote with the genius @Patrick_Shortis, published by @GI_TOC here:

globalinitiative.net/analysis/russi…

@Patrick_Shortis @GI_TOC Hat tips to everyone at @GI_TOC, the brilliant Andrey K, @Narco_Polo420, @galeeff and Vladimir at , and all the experts and drug trade players we interviewed for this beast 12/12Lenta.ru