Organised crime groups based in the UK generate more money from selling illegal drugs on the dark web than in any other country in Europe, according to the EU’s drugs agency.

Darknet vendors in the UK were estimated to have sold drugs worth more than £24m with a total weight of 2,825kg in 2017-18.

Although they did not generate as much revenue, dark web vendors in Germany were estimated to have traded a higher quantity of drugs, 3,153kg, worth over £16m.

The disparity could reflect price variations and the differences in types of drugs offered.

However, the true figures were almost certainly much higher. Including on the darknet, drug users across the EU spend more than £26bn on illicit substances each year.

A number of online marketplaces where drugs are sold have been closed in recent years by international law enforcement agencies, but the dark web markets ecosystem has proved resilient and take-downs did not significantly impact revenues, the 2019 EU drug markets report noted.

The report said the number of online stores run by single vendors had grown in response, and the market was expected to continue to both fragment and migrate to encrypted communication apps such as Discord and
Telegram.

It is estimated that the number of people in England who buy drugs on the dark web has more than doubled since 2014 amid similar rises in other countries. Darknet vendors in the UK sell mainly cocaine and cannabis, along with stimulants such as MDMA and dissociatives including ketamine.

However, a number of vendors in the UK also sell fentanyl, a powerful painkiller 50 times stronger than heroin.

Some UK-based fentanyl vendors recruit criminals in other countries where they enjoy large customer bases to sell the dangerous opioid on their behalf, according to the report.

The use of postal and parcel services to transport drugs has expanded rapidly in the past two years, posing added dilemmas for law enforcement agencies.

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