Internet-mediated drug trafficking: towards a better understanding of new criminal dynamics
Internet-mediated drug trafficking: towards a better understanding of new criminal dynamics
Cyberspace has increasingly become an online marketplace for recreational drugs. The consequences that Internet usage has brought to drug trafficking, however, are still under-investigated. In this study script analysis was used to identify the structure of criminal opportunities that the Internet supplies for drug trafficking, and to allow a richer and deeper understanding of the dynamics of this criminal activity in the Internet age. This article provides an accurate description of how actors involved in drug trafficking behave in cyberspace and highlights how not only has the Internet opened the way for new criminal actors, but it also has re-configured relations among suppliers, intermediaries, and buyers. The conclusions suggest new directions for research and possibilities for a proactive law-enforcement approach.
internet, drug trafficking, criminal networks, script analysis, serious and organized crime
250-270
Lavorgna, Anita
6e34317e-2dda-42b9-8244-14747695598c
December 2014
Lavorgna, Anita
6e34317e-2dda-42b9-8244-14747695598c
Lavorgna, Anita
(2014)
Internet-mediated drug trafficking: towards a better understanding of new criminal dynamics.
Trends in Organized Crime, 17 (4), .
(doi:10.1007/s12117-014-9226-8).
Abstract
Cyberspace has increasingly become an online marketplace for recreational drugs. The consequences that Internet usage has brought to drug trafficking, however, are still under-investigated. In this study script analysis was used to identify the structure of criminal opportunities that the Internet supplies for drug trafficking, and to allow a richer and deeper understanding of the dynamics of this criminal activity in the Internet age. This article provides an accurate description of how actors involved in drug trafficking behave in cyberspace and highlights how not only has the Internet opened the way for new criminal actors, but it also has re-configured relations among suppliers, intermediaries, and buyers. The conclusions suggest new directions for research and possibilities for a proactive law-enforcement approach.
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More information
e-pub ahead of print date: 14 August 2014
Published date: December 2014
Keywords:
internet, drug trafficking, criminal networks, script analysis, serious and organized crime
Organisations:
Sociology, Social Policy & Criminology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 386263
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/386263
ISSN: 1084-4791
PURE UUID: 9495d86e-f836-4886-b046-cdc6ecad7696
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Date deposited: 29 Jan 2016 11:44
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:52
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