Drug insider reveals how deals go down on Discord as federal police get far-reaching new powers
As federal police get far-reaching new powers to catch drug dealers on gaming apps and the dark net, an Adelaide insider reveals the full extent of the illegal trade.
Police & Courts
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Legislation to shut down illegal online drug sales has passed the Senate as the head of South Australia’s largest web drug forum reveals how more than $100,000 of contraband is sold on the site each week.
Hundreds of drug dealers are taking advantage of instant messaging service Discord’s anonymity and lack of verification, which hosts hundreds of drug-related communities, where users buy and sell illicit drugs under fictitious usernames.
Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews introduced a Bill to parliament this week to inhibit internet dealers and give unprecedented powers to Australian Federal Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.
The Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020 was passed by the Senate on Wednesday, and allows police to seek warrants to collect intelligence and disrupt serious criminal offences on the dark web and regular internet.
It also gives police the power to take over accounts of online dealers.
Speaking to The Advertiser under the alias of Mark, the administrator of the state’s largest Discord drug server said 536 “verified” dealers sold “at least” $100,000 of illegal substances and stolen goods a week.
“On a week-to-week basis I could tell you at least $100,000, if not more,” Mark said.
He said the forum of nearly 6000 members was the state’s largest, and was aware of another 10 to 15 servers with a “decent size and reputation”.
Mark said he originally created the forum to keep sales away from bikies and fund his own habit, and does not sell anything himself.
“Our aim is to keep people, especially young people, away from bikies and bad actors, that’s our main goal,” he said.
Ms Andrews said the legislation allows police to target people who “deal in the most insidious crimes against children”.
“It is critical the parliament moves quickly to ensure our law enforcement agencies have the tools they need to keep pace with technology to continue to keep Australians safe,” Ms Andrews said.
“It will … assist police to protect the most vulnerable victims here in Australia, and overseas.”
Attorney-General Vickie Chapman raised concerns about those using Discord to buy and sell drugs, but said legislation changes to make it harder to stamp out online crime was a federal issue.
“Those who are caught and convicted will face tough penalties, including potential life sentences and hefty fines,” she said.
Originally creating the server three years ago to solve personal issues of not being able to find drug dealers in his area, Mark said he has taken a back seat, watching as it evolved.
“My original reason for starting the Discord server is that I couldn’t find drug dealers in my area, so I decided I would make the community,” he said.
“I basically keep tabs on people posting products in the correct place, because we like to keep things organised.
“I deal with reports of people being ripped off or attacked or whatnot, because a fair bit of that goes on.”
Mark said the ease of access, timely deliveries or pick-up of drugs, and anonymous ease of access appealed to those on the server.
“When you go on to the server as a buyer, you sort of scroll through and go ‘oh yep that’s what I want, they’re close’ and send them a direct message,” he said.
“When I realised sort of the potential of it and realised we can vet people, actually kick people out and have a community” Mark said he sat back and let the interest boom.
When questioned about the ethics of his server, Mark said if a buyer overdosed on product purchased through his forum, it would “take a toll”.
“I think if it was to come to light that my group had facilitated that I would be upset,” he said. “The whole point of this is to avoid that as much as possible, that would take a toll.”
Labor MLC Kyam Maher said police need adequate resourcing to stop cyber crime.
“Firstly, it’s absolutely necessary to make sure the police have the resourcing to both detect and prosecute these sorts of crimes,” Mr Maher said.
“Clearly, this is occurring and it needs to be cracked down on and stamped out.”
Mr Maher said the state government should work with the Commonwealth to tighten internet laws.
“We’ll have a look at whether there are any gaps in South Australian laws … but work with the Commonwealth to look at ways it can be done together,” he said.
“It’s not just the sale or possession, it’s the enabling this to occur online for people who knowingly host and facilitate websites and chatrooms that enable this to occur.
A Discord spokesman said the company had a “zero-tolerance” approach to illegal activity, and bans servers that violate community guidelines.
“When we become aware of illegal activity we take immediate action, including banning users, shutting down servers, and when appropriate, co-operating with the proper authorities or organisations,” the spokesman said.
An SA Police spokesman said the issue does not lie with Discord itself, but those that take advantage of the platform.
The spokesman could not confirm what tools are used by police or why servers continue to exist if police were aware of their existence, but said methods were in place for dealing with online dealers.
“Police have a variety or tools at their disposal and work collaborative with interstate and international jurisdictions to identify, investigate and disrupt cybercrimes.”
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