The eBay for drugs: 'Silk Road' website allows UK drug users to buy cocaine and heroin by mail order from all over the world

The drugs are being disguised inside packages and being innocently delivered by Royal Mail

Silk Road is known as the eBay of the drugs world and allows people to find the best price and also rate the people who sold it to them

Royal Mail say they have security procedures in place to intercept this post

The site has £14m annual sales worldwide



Class A drugs are being delivered to homes across the UK by Royal Mail to customers who have bought them online like they were using Amazon or eBay, it has been revealed.

Ecstasy, heroin, cannabis and cocaine are all on offer on the website Silk Road, and users say it is ‘easier and safer’ than buying drugs from dealers on street corners.

UK shoppers can choose their illegal drugs with the click of a mouse and then wait for a neatly packaged parcel, with drugs disguised inside, to fall through their letter box.

Illegal: Silk Road - a website known as the eBay for drugs - allows people to buy drugs like this block cannabis online and have it sent to them by post

Scheme: The Silk Road drug dealing website is set up like an online store, allowing customers to find the drugs they want at the best price and to give feed back on the sellers

Silk Road is an illegal replica online marketplace like eBay, with buyers and sellers, dispute and resolution services and feedback ratings.

The website is accessed via a programme called Tor which enables all members to remain anonymous online and uses an 'onion' system to make sure their IP address is always hidden from police.

An investigation by an online computer security professor in America earlier this year estimated that Silk Road boasts an annual sales figure of £14million.

One clubber from Brighton, Sussex said: ‘There’s a group of us in Brighton who always order stuff online, it’s safer than going out to some dodgy car park somewhere.



‘It’s just so much easier and I know the quality of the stuff I order isn’t going to be compromised.



‘If I am ordering one or two things in a package like this then it won’t get picked up by the postal guys.



‘I reckon if I started ordering loads of stuff though in massive quantities it would probably mean trouble.’



Drugs are bought with ‘Bitcoins’, an untraceable digital currency.

Dangerous: This cannabis was being sold but users say it is easier and safer than buying off a street dealer

Brazen: This cocaine was also for sale on Silk Road which is using complicated software to allow people to buy and sell anonymously

Amphetamine: This seller has piles of speed for sale, which is being sent by post and landing on the nation's doorsteps

Killer: Drugs like this Crystal Meth displayed on Silk Road is being sent all over the world by dealers

A 30-year-old DJ from Hove, Sussex who did not want to be named said: ‘I was shocked at how easy it was at first.



‘I was used to having to call friends of friends to try and sort stuff out but now I just go online and wait.



‘There’s quite a decent community on there with some intelligent people, it’s not full of druggies like some people would think.



‘Why would I want to try and score from some dodgy dealer in a nightclub when I can just get it delivered to my doorstep? It’s a no-brainer.’



System: Users buy a currency called Bitcoins which are totally untraceable and can then purchase LSD tabs like these and then leave a review for the seller like on eBay or Amazon

Sussex Police said they were completely unaware of the practise and had ‘no intelligence’ on dealers using encrypted websites to supply illegal drugs by post.



A spokeswoman said: ‘Sussex police welcomes any intelligence with regard to the supply of illicit drugs, which are a constant threat to our community, it’s a timely reminder that any drugs whether bought in person on the street or internet will come from dubious origin.’



The Royal Mail said they never knowingly allowed illegal substances to be delivered by post, but refused to disclose the steps taken to prevent postal dealing.



A spokesperson said: ‘For obvious reasons, we are not able to give any further details about our security measures as this would compromise our operations.’



A Home Office spokesperson said:



'The government and law enforcement agencies take the issue of unlawful advertising and sales of drugs on the internet very seriously, and we continue to work with internet providers to ensure they comply with the law.



'If the police believe a crime has been committed they can approach the originating Internet Service Provider on the basis that disclosure under data protection legislation is proportional to the crime.



'UK Border Force officers are also on constant alert to keep illegal drugs from entering the country. Operations include intelligence-led examination of packages and letters sent through the post.'



A spokesman from Brighton drug charity CRI warned users that buying drugs online could be even riskier than a covert street-corner meeting, saying:



'Traditionally the Class A drugs market in Brighton is based on face-face meetings and it’s fairly open but this news just adds another worrying dimension to that.



‘I would warn users of the website to really think about what you are doing.



‘You don’t know what it is you’re buying or what it’s been cut with.



‘It exposes people to a high level of risk.



‘We of course don’t advocate the purchase or use of drugs, but if you are going to then make sure it’s from a trusted source.

