Darknet is the hidden part of the internet that can’t be accessed through normal browsers. (Representative image.)

Hello brother. I want 1 gram of Malana charas. Can it be delivered in the Indian city of Chandigarh? Is it safe?

tantrikom39: Yes, it can be delivered in Chandigarh. It is safe. You can order up to 100 grams. 1 gram is too less.

I have never bought like this before so I am feeling a little scared. What address in Chandigarh should I give? My home address or some office address? I want more than 10 grams. May be over 100 grams.

tantrikom39: Hi brother. I have sent (charas) to many customers in Chandigarh at their house addresses but only of 50 grams and 100 grams. Don’t give an office address! Because anybody in office may open the cover (envelope) by chance. I can send by professional courier or through speed post with tracking details. Waiting for your order. Thanks, regards.

CHANDIGARH: This is how easy it is to buy drugs including Malana Cream on what is known as the darknet, the virtual underbelly of the internet that can be accessed by only those who use special browsers with encrypted software. Posing as a customer, this reporter got access to the darknet drug markets as part of a TOI investigation and found out that buying drugs here is as simple as buying a smartphone or watch online. The conversation above is with one of the online peddlers.

The TOI investigation was done after the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) raised concern over the growing sale of drugs on the darknet in the World Drug Report, 2016. While police officers in states like Punjab have put behind bars drug users and small-time peddlers, this vast and practically abundant storehouse of narcotics has remained out of reach of the law.

There are hundreds of drug dealers registered as ‘vendors’ on scores of darknet supermarkets for drugs where all sorts of illegal deals are executed. If information on these sites it to be believed, they use snail mail – the government’s postal service – to smuggle dope across borders! The best technology is used to remain anonymous online and the most outdated technology is used to transport the drugs.

Some darknet markets, like Silk Road 3.0, AlphaBay, Agora marketplace, Dream Market and Crypto Market promise hassle-free smooth delivery of drugs – cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, opium, and charas, to name a few – right at your doorstep with this modus operandi.

And Malana Cream, the best known charas produced in Malana village of Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district, is all over darknet. It may be difficult to buy Malana Cream in Malana village; but not here. Just get access to a darknet drug market by downloading an encrypted browser, type Malana Cream into the search box, press ‘Enter’, and listings mentioning rates, quality and quantity of charas along with pictures of the ‘product’ start popping up.

For example, on the Silk Road market, “5 gram traditional Malana hash” is available for $75 and 50 grams for $300. On AlphaBay Market, “1 gram Malana Cream from Himalayas” is available for $21 and “5 gram hand-rubbed Indian Charas from Malana village, locally known as Cream” can be bought for $55.

Similarly, on the Dream Market, the Cream is available at a price ranging from $10 USD to $20 USD per gram, depending upon the quality.

Just like any other online retail store, one can go through the reviews posted by users or check the ‘trust level’ of a vendor on a scale of 1 to 5. Most users have not only reviewed the quality of Malana Cream, but also praised vendors for the safe and on-time delivery. This highly encrypted world ensures that you leave no digital footprints for investigating agencies. Messages can’t last longer than a month if not deleted by users.

Moreover, all payments are made through bitcoin, a digital currency that doesn’t need a third party like a bank or government. Drug deliveries are promised to be made in a time period ranging from one week and extending up to maximum a month, depending upon the buyer’s location.

Peddlers prefer to sell drugs including Malana Cream in smaller quantities, mostly from one gram to 50 grams and not exceeding 100 grams, as the dope is transported in envelopes through postal department or courier services. The Cream is hidden stealthily in postal envelopes by peddlers and then posted to their destinations as far off as France, Australia, America, Italy and Germany. This information is freely available on the sites.

Very short arms of digital law

According to Sastry Tumuluri, a cyber-security expert, it’s not easy to infiltrate and bust darknet drug rackets. “The police need to up their cyber proficiency levels for even entering places like darknet. The kind of cyber training that is required for busting such operations is a very difficult, highly-technological and a costly affair but the police must strive for it. But presently, criminals on the darknet are out of the reach of the police, at least in India,” said Sastri. No one knows better than darknet’s drug dealers, who brag about “100% success rate” in delivering dope.

Darknet

It is the hidden and secret part of the internet that can’t be accessed through normal web browsers.

It is beyond the eyes of search engines.

It is home to all sorts of criminal trading and activities – from buying drugs and weapons to financial frauds.

Many also hail darknet as the safest platform for free speech and whistleblowers.

It can be accessed only through specific web browsers that keep users’ identity anonymous.

How drugs are delivered at doorsteps

After paying the vendor in bitcoins, the order is accepted and charas is shipped to the address a buyer has provided. Charas is wrapped in an envelope and sent through either the government postal department or via courier services.

Vendors claim that they hide charas in vacuumed moisture barrier bags (MBBs) to keep the smell in and moisture out. MBB is then put in an envelope in a way that the cannabis is not visible unless it is torn open.

The envelope is also made to appear as boring and routine as possible to avoid arousal of any curiosity. Charas weighting not more than 100 grams is preferred to be shipped to avoid any risk of detection. Some vendors ship the ordered drug from several undisclosed locations to lower the detection risk.

Vendors prefer to ship drugs to addresses that receive postal mail regularly. Small international envelopes are sent as express/registered documents. The delivery time including custom clearance for international shipping takes from a week to a month

Cannabis at number 4 on darknet

According to the World Drug Report, 2016, cannabis continues to be the most cultivated, produced, trafficked and consumed drug worldwide and it is at number four in the list of the highest quantities of drugs sold on the darknet after Ecstasy and LSD.

Conversation with a darknet drug peddler

JariBootiWalla: ‘what exactly are you looking for?’

Hi, I want to check Malana Cream. How much 10 gm will cost?

JariBootiWalla: What exactly are you looking for? Please go through the listings and you will find prices there. Prices depend upon quality and quantity. Prices can be anywhere between $30 USD to $150 USD for 10 grams.

I want 10g of Super Cream Charas. Can it be delivered in India?

JariBootiWalla: Yes. It can be delivered in India. Please go to the listings and order there.

