@Ismene2 Long post here but I wanna explain what I was trying to say based on the law regarding conspiracy and also reassuring people that, unless they have been importing or exporting major amounts and have an address that could lead to them being discovered, then they have nothing to worry about.
Conspiracy doesn't have to reveal physical drugs and is a different legal question than simple possession/possession with intent to supply (even though you can still be prosecuted for those crimes even without drugs on you "bang to rights" based on other evidence as you can find on that website if you want to look further into the law). "Conspiracy to import Class A drugs", "Conspiracy to distribute Class A drugs" and so on. These charges could be applied together with many more and could be put together using evidence of orders, purchases, communications between different parties which indicate the movement of drugs and so on.
This is from a solicitor's firm in Manchester which explains how conspiracy cases are prosecuted as well as defended (in England and Wales):
'WHAT IS A CONSPIRACY TO SUPPLY CLASS A DRUGS CHARGE?
The legal definition of 'conspiracy to supply class A drugs' involves two or more individuals forming an agreement to sell or distribute these drugs. Even if the planned actions are not illegal in themselves, (such as driving a vehicle or providing a place for the drugs to be stored or sold), if they are intended to contribute to the crime of supplying Class A drugs, it is sufficient grounds for prosecution. Similar to a possession with intent to supply charge,
the police do not have to prove that any supply actually took place, only that the intention was there. Individuals found guilty of involvement in drug supply, particularly class A drugs tend to be penalised harshly due to the significant harm they inflict upon society.
It later says:
Prosecutors will use evidence based upon your interactions with others in the drug supply chain. For example, text messages and phone calls will be used to identify not only communications but also you whereabouts during drug-related activity.'
(Bold emphasis mine)
The only real point I was making is that they would need to heavily investigate a crime like that and so anyone who was using darknet markets for personal use or even for dealing small amounts probably has nothing to worry about, simply due to it being more effort and work for law enforcement to investigate than is worth. They want sure prosecutions and so wont go after someone ordering sheets of acid, a few ecstasy pills, grams, 8ths or whatever of heroin (unless they "have" them, via a person being very stupid). They want big fish that are actually worth pursuing and prosecuting and you're right in saying that an address and some evidence of transactions occurring would not be enough on its own but if we're talking kilos being imported for distribution and with a name being linked to communications which can lead to others, this might open up an investigation into conspiracy.
It is possible, highly unlikely but doesn't require a "raid" and/or drugs being found. Not in a conspiracy case. Look into Operation Venetic and the "Encrochat" phones - highly encrypted mobile devices that could dual boot, either via an Android OS or a built in, heavily encrypted Peer to Peer network which had a self-destruct button. Ironically, many of these would have been purchased on darknet market. The devices were compromised somehow by the Gendarme and this has led to 100s, possibly 1000s of arrests and convictions, many being conspiracy cases. They were able to discover people through their handles on the network via techniques as elaborate as finding a location from a picture which revealed where a person might be based simply on the kind of masonry (just the type of thing they can do - sometimes it could be a kind of wallpaper that is only available via one particular manufacturer via one single store - think "digital forensics") or people willingly/naively giving out personal info over the network due to believing it was secure (which it was for a while).
People spoke about their families, shared pictures of their pets, all kinds of dumb shit. An investigating agency could prove that a person was a suspect via the device and then find evidence of them at certain locations, using CCTV and other surveillance to prove that the person has been there and this corroborate their identity and movements, linking back to their communications which they didn't "destroy" quickly enough (even though the company put out a warning that they discovered that they had been compromised, finally shutting down the whole system. Some people didn't act quickly enough). Many have been arrested, charged and prosecuted without any drugs being on them and some have snitched on others to get lesser sentences.
Anyway in short: unless you are a major drug trafficker operating across borders, a national player or a significant regional trafficker/distributor/dealer then you pretty much have nothing to worry about. Conspiracy would be the major worry for most people as they could get rid of the drugs before the police even got the list (which probably hasn't been released and probably wont be). Also, I doubt that many serious traffickers use darknet markets anyway, even though kilo-level weight does get moved. Many traffickers are known to law enforcement already and aren't likely to use the dark net when they have links to traffickers around the world using long established routes, smuggling techniques and so on. If they do use them, they will use people much further down the chain who are expendable and will do the time should they be caught.
This whole thing is more than likely part of an exit scam - an exit scam with the added element of blackmail is quite clever in theory. Or its a law enforcement compromise/"hack" designed to get some foolish people to reveal themselves due to naivety when it comes to the law or some "hackers" basically doing the same thing but for profit.
Its a buncha bullshit and I don't think anyone has anything to worry about other than losing another darknet market, possibly losing money if it is an exit scam and they have transactions pending. Just tell them to fuck off if they harass you, unless you are a super serious player, in which case phone up your dodgy lawyers.
@Cheshire_Kat EXACTLY - it is a load of nonsense designed to scam naive people, nothing for anyone to worry about.
