
Drug Dealers Are Offering Black Friday Deals on the Dark Web - fludlight
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/black-friday-2019-deals-dark-web-drugs-criminals-a9212356.html
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buttcoinslol
Has anyone commenting ever actually bought or sold drugs before? Every single
dealer or customer I've ever met has been through someone else, or someone I
knew. There's relationships and trust vouching, just like any business. Credit
is extended, and paid back. Transactions generally occur in homes or cars.

The comments here are acting like all real world drug market transactions
occur between strangers, which is so far removed from the truth we might as
well be talking about something else.

A good way to describe selling weed is 'the only MLM where people actually
want what you're selling'

~~~
partyboat1586
Where I live (big city) there are numbers you can text and it's a different
guy every time. It's like ordering pizza except you get in their car for the
transaction. You are usually waiting 20min at most. The whole operation is
eerily professional. Back in my home town it was a guy you knew who may or may
not be around or that other guy your friend knew who's house you could swing
by. For weed in particular you tend to get more of the small town style
dealers even in big cities just cos it's nice and people are used to it but
for hard drugs people don't care, they want their drugs in the most convenient
way possible.

~~~
eunoia
The first time I heard of this kind of system it was for black tar heroin
distribution in the US from a specific Mexican town that basically franchised
the drug trade. [1]

Super interesting stuff. Google Xalisco or pick up the book Dreamland for
more.

[1] [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-feb-16-la-me-
bl...](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-feb-16-la-me-
blacktar16-2010feb16-story.html?_amp=true)

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nickthegreek
I guess it is a good time to ship a bunch of packages thru post offices that
are already going to be at max capacity. Seems like it would lower the chance
of them getting picked up.

~~~
ghostbrainalpha
Counterpoint: There is also a higher chance of Post Offices losing your
package, routing it to an incorrect address, or other holiday errors that
would increase your risk.

And just from the minimal Dark Web browsing I've done, it seems like post
offices are really only searching packages when they already have some reason
to be suspicious, like contact from law enforcement. Truly random checks seem
like an extremely rare occurrence.

~~~
crispyporkbites
Can a post office generally open random packages under the guise of
intercepting drugs?

I would very much hope not.

~~~
iudqnolq
In general, first class letters that don't cross a national border and don't
look like they contain something other than letter are safe from warrentless
interception. Certainly packages have no such protections.

FISA (post 9/11 "national security" authorizing legislation) adds some
exceptions

> Third, provisions in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978
> (“FISA”), as amended, 50 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq., specifically authorize the
> Attorney General to conduct physical searches of mall without prior judicial
> authorization in certain circumstances. Section 304(e) of FISA, 50 U.S.C. §
> 1824(e), provides that ___the Attorney General, under certain circumstances,
> may approve the execution of an emergency physical search of property,
> including property that “is in transit to or from an agent of a foreign
> power or a foreign power,”_ __id. § 1824(a)(3)(B), so long as the Attorney
> General subsequently obtains an order from the Foreign Intelligence
> Surveillance Court authorizing the search...

[https://www.rstreet.org/2014/11/19/yes-the-government-can-
op...](https://www.rstreet.org/2014/11/19/yes-the-government-can-open-your-
mail-without-a-warrant/)

~~~
ksaj
A lot of packages I receive from overseas are stamped with words to the effect
of "Package may be opened and inspected" which is probably directly related to
this clause, and also negating the need to get permission from the foreign
courts. I'm guessing that is to speed things up in case they do want to
inspect it.

Likewise, I've received one package that was opened and inspected. It came in
a clear plastic bag along with a very short note stating that it had been
inspected in accordance to <whatever laws they were>.

Senders probably don't usually stamp that on illegal shipments, and the post
surely doesn't drop in a polite notification if they discover something
illegal in there.

~~~
iudqnolq
The Constitution in general protects much less when the borders are involved.
I meant to say that the US government can open any mail it feels like if that
mail isn't a first class letter, without needing permission from a judge.
Additionally, even first class letters aren't protected if they cross the
border; the government can inspect anything it feels like that crosses a
border without needing permission from any judge.

Unless someone forged the notice (unlikely, as you point out) some government
opened it (it could also have been the government of the sender or any transit
country). All those notices are the government voluntarily letting you know
because someone in the government thought it would be better; if the FBI
wanted to open a package because they vaguely suspected terrorism they could
do it without needing to stamp the package or give any notice if they wanted.

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tempsy
Is this actually newsworthy?

If you’re going to buy drugs the darkweb is almost surely safer (as in more
likely to be getting what you ask for) than buying it from some random person
in your neighborhood.

~~~
save_ferris
How exactly? This makes no sense to me.

~~~
throwaway07Ju19
At the very least, buying drugs in person comes with the risk of getting
punched in the face in exchange for your money.

In all honesty, when I was young buying street drugs was appealing for the
hustle, risk, excitement, and mischief. Often I'd simply resell it for double
the thrill. Perhaps with that element gone it might actually be less appealing
for some.

~~~
bobobob420
No drug dealer punches you in the face for money... drug dealers make money by
you coming back for more. Only a crackhead would punch you for money

~~~
rainonmoon
There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about drug buying in this thread in
general. You're right, and I'll add that they also make money by word of mouth
-- not just you coming back, but bringing a friend, extending a network of
trust, etc. Punching someone in the face doesn't exactly engender that kind of
thing for one's business.

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chadlavi
Drug dealers have always had holiday specials.

Or so I've heard.

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DonHopkins
Is this a narco-submarine article?

[http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narco-
submarine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narco-submarine)

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tayo42
Thought the darknet was in abit of chaos at the moment?

~~~
Ftuuky
Why do you think that?

~~~
tayo42
Thought some of the popular markets are down, dread is down

~~~
Ftuuky
Oh wow, I wasn't aware dread is down.

~~~
DarthGhandi
It's very much a target of certain nation states for ddos, which is apparently
ok when the police do it, the ones with the eyes have a strange hypocrisy
about drugs given the evidence of vastly improved safety from the darknet
vendors. Then again they always have.

~~~
SturgeonsLaw
Governments tend to indulge in hypocrisy as standard operating practice. They
also reserve the right to kill people and confiscate property because, as much
as the average person might find comfort in order, legislation and
institutions, the reality of the world is you can do whatever you want unless
someone can stop you, and there are not a lot of people or organisations that
can stop a government.

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1996
TLDR: people who do things you don't approve still share the same culture you
do, live in the same world, and celebrate like you do.

Because they are human too

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csteubs
This has been happening for years. The deals some vendors offer on weed
leading up to 4/20 have always been jaw dropping.

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herlitzj
Shouldn't this be Cyber Monday? Or are these bricks and mortar dealers?

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hashkb
Fun story but this isn't really news. Sales is sales. All sales tricks are a
bit, well, tricky; marketers are trying to convince us to buy things we might
not. At least with drugs people already want them.

