Guns are sold illegally through numerous anonymous, unlicensed sellers on the black market, which poses an issue for gun dealers: any firearm that winds up in criminal hands tarnishes their reputation and all dealers alike. Learn the best info about Black market guns for sale.
Criminals armed with enough money and online know-how can easily acquire powerful weapons like Glocks, Berettas, AK-47s, and Bushmaster rifles through the black market for guns. Understanding its roots may help address this issue more effectively.
The Dark Web
The Internet consists of two parts – the visible “surface web” and the hidden “dark web.” While most users only interact with the surface web, some access the dark web using Tor. This unique software routes your internet traffic through thousands of volunteer servers around the world in order to encrypt and conceal your activities online and hide your location. Many dark web users also utilize Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in order to disguise themselves better online.
Although the dark web does not directly fuel large-scale terrorist operations and armed conflicts, it provides another channel for individuals (lone-wolf terrorist attackers) or smaller groups to purchase weapons and ammunition – as evidenced by the 2016 Munich shopping mall attack where firearms purchased through this channel were used by gunmen.
Recent research into illicit marketplaces revealed that pistols were the most frequently offered for sale on the dark net, followed by rifles and submachine guns. Furthermore, arms-related digital products like DIY weapon manuals and 3D-printed gun models were often available on cryptomarkets.
Firearms are an attractive commodity on the dark web, accounting for almost 90% of market revenue on 12 cryptomarkets analyzed in this research. Unfortunately, due to scamming and fake listings, it’s often hard to establish just how many real firearms are actually sold on these markets; furthermore, it could involve stolen goods sales as part of arms trading on these markets.
Criminal Organizations
A revelation of over 1.2 million stolen firearms between 2012 and 2015 brings home the pervasiveness of illegal gun markets. Stolen firearms often go undetected into black market channels, fuelling criminal activity and contributing to violence within societies. This statistic illustrates why stringent regulatory measures and effective law enforcement must be employed in order to dismantle clandestine underground marketplaces.
Criminals access guns for sale on the black market through “straw purchases,” in which someone who is legally not allowed to purchase firearms purchases one and then sells it back on to criminals for use in violence-prone communities. This practice has become extremely widespread and is associated with increased rates of gun violence.
Black market gun sales from non-licensed gun dealers are another common source of black market firearms, serving as another way for criminals to launder their money through money laundering schemes. These gun deals can serve as another form of money laundering for criminal organizations that employ them.
Interviews conducted with New York police officers indicate that most crime guns found in Bronx and Brooklyn neighborhoods come from states with looser gun control regulations, while in Thailand, 85% of the estimated 10 million firearms in circulation have been acquired illicitly, underscoring its prevalence and threat.
Straw Buyers
Individuals not legally permitted to own guns often enlist the services of straw buyers – otherwise known as arms brokers – to purchase firearms on their behalf and then sell them back for profit to those illegally prohibited from possessing guns. Straw purchases represent one source of illegally trafficked firearms and contribute to violent crime rates within communities where there already exist high crime rates.
Law enforcement agencies have taken measures to address this problem by intensifying efforts to stamp out straw buying and raising public awareness about its consequences.
Straw buyers assume significant risks. Those caught purchasing weapons could face charges of felony and potentially face prison time and fines; additionally, if their gun is used in any illegal acts, it could land both them as well as those receiving it criminal charges.
Strategies can help reduce straw buying, such as tighter background checks and increasing penalties for those caught engaging in this practice. Expanding the scope of National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) records is also vital, including those related to mental health and domestic violence, as well as active restraining orders. Requiring licensed dealers to record gun sales directly to private citizens also helps limit illegal gun markets.
Unregulated Secondary Markets
The dark web presents national governments with unique and complex challenges when it comes to combatting arms trafficking due to its anonymity and ease of use as an outlet for purchasing illegal arms. Furthermore, many websites hosted on it sell arms-related digital products that can be used to build real firearms or explosives; this poses significant threats to internal security, as evidenced by recent terrorist attacks that involved purchasing weapons via the dark web.
Police are worried that criminals are taking advantage of the increasing availability of guns for sale on the dark web to buy weapons illegally and resell them illegally to other criminals. A study by data aggregation company Echosec found over one thousand listings across 12 cryptomarkets offering firearms or related parts and accessories online.
Illegal guns obtained on the streets can often be much cheaper than purchasing them legally from licensed dealers, leading government officials to suggest gun buyback programs are an effective means of decreasing illegal gun circulation in society. While cops cannot capture every illegally held gun off the streets, their efforts should focus on targeting bad guys rather than creating laws that bureaucratize gun ownership rights for law-abiding citizens.
