When encryption fails: a glimpse behind the curtain of synthetic drug trafficking networks

Melvin R.J. Soudijn, Irma J. Vermeulen and Wouter P.E. van der Leest

Global Crime, 2022, vol. 23, issue 2, 216-239

Abstract: The confiscation of the server of an encrypted telephone provider resulted in the retrieval of millions of text messages about covert activities that were overtly discussed between criminals. It provided a unique window into serious organised crime and the people involved. In this article, a social network analysis was carried out on accounts who communicated about synthetic drug trafficking. The sheer number of accounts (N = 4,158) and messages threads (12,085) allows for a meso level analysis of the structural characteristics of the networks involved. Three findings stand out. Firstly, the majority (58%) of the accounts active in the synthetic drug market is involved in poly-drug trafficking. Secondly, three-quarters of all accounts are interconnected in a giant component, resulting in a criminal small-world effect. Thirdly, the network appears to be robust. As a consequence, the removal of central accounts will hardly have any impact on the network as a whole.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1080/17440572.2022.2086125

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