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81 Crime L. & Soc. Change 1 (2024)

handle is hein.journals/crmlsc81 and id is 1 raw text is: Crime, Law and Social Change (2024) 81:1-25 https://doi.org/10.1007/si0611-023-10106-w Online and offline determinants of drug trafficking across countries via cryptomarkets Luca Giommoni . David D4cary-H4tu2 - Giulia Berlusconi3. Andr4anne Bergeron2 Accepted: 21 June 2023/Published online: 2 July 2023 ŠThe Author(s) 2023 Abstract Drug cryptomarkets are a significant development in the recent history of illicit drug markets. Dealers and buyers can now finalize transactions with people they have never met, who could be located anywhere across the globe. What factors shape the geography of international drug trafficking via these cryptomarkets? In our current study, we test the determinants of drug trafficking through cryptomarkets by using a mix of social network analysis and a new dataset composed of self-reported transac- tions. Our findings contribute to existing research by demonstrating that a country's level of technological advancement increases the probability of forming traffick- ing connections on cryptomarkets. Additionally, we found that a country's capacity to police cryptomarkets reduces the number of trafficking connections with other countries. We also observed that trafficking on cryptomarkets is more likely to occur between countries that are geographically close. In summary, our study highlights the need to consider both online and offline factors in research on cryptomarkets. Keywords Drug cryptomarkets - Social network analysis - Drug trafficking- Cybercrime Introduction Silk Road's inception in February 2011 ushered in a novel era in illicit drug transac- tions. In the past, individuals who sought illicit drugs had to meet dealers in person to finalize transactions. Cryptomarkets, however, heralded a shift in this convention. E Luca Giommoni giommonil@cardiff.ac.uk School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3WT, UK 2 School of Criminology, Universit6 de Montr6al, Montr6al, Qu6bec, Canada 3 Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK I_) Springer