“We agree, we accredit you $ 45,800 as an advance for the weapons and drones that we have selected on your site, but can we be sure that we will really receive the goods?”.
A chilling story that emerges from the dark web reveals the extreme ease with which anyone – was also a minor who has money available – can acquire impunity “real” weapons online and then make use of it that best believes, without being traced. How to make a massacre (it has already happened) or make “justice” by itself. Pistols and machine guns of all kinds, explosives, bombs, anti -tank grenades, bazooka. Even kamikaze and missile drones are available “ready for delivery”.
Panorama He entered the shirts of one of the clandestine networks that provides them, Black Market Guns, huge illegal supermarket of weapons, considered “very serious” by the same police because perhaps managed by former soldiers who, consequently, have ease in treating certain articles. Active since 2018, no magistrate – at least, not in Italy – has yet managed to close it. Yet, there is every kind of firearm, so much so that “organized crime goes crazy”, reveals an investigating source that works anonymously on these information.
There are at least 195 weapons currently available for purchase. Black Market Guns is the only one to have a specific inventory, with details on their characteristics and “competitive”, periodically discounted prices: a 9mm with silencer can be had for less than 500 euros, a bazooka for 1,500; But with “just” 20 thousand euros you even buy anti-clarified anti-clarified systems or transportable earth-air missiles (even if it is likely that pistols and rifles up to the C-4 plastic are truly delivered, while the most sophisticated pieces are above all functional to attract the customer on the site and convince it of the “seriousness” of the seller).
Many weapons come from Russian and Ukrainian deposits, due to the enormous black market that generated after the outbreak of the conflict in 2022: thus, for example, the Mandads, (anti-aircraft missile system transportable on the shoulder) of Soviet origin such as the Strela-2, are often found in regions such as Transcarpatia and Cernovcy, where the economy of the district is longtime. In Lopoli, last August the Ukrainian law enforcement officers dismantled an imposing and seized weapons of 72 pistols, 20 assault rifles, 29 grenades and about 50 thousand bullets (Lopoli is about seventy kilometers from the Polish border, and therefore weapons are one step away from the European Union).
Until recently, Black Market Market Guns also sold a Javelin Fgm-148, automatic driving anti-tank system, listed as “exhausted” starting from June 2023. Although we cannot verify the accuracy of these lists, fluctuations in the availability of war weapons are worrying indicators of the threat level and the number of attackers circulating in the old continent without any control.
The most surprising case was the seizure in Poland of the 23 mm anti-aircraft cannon, Zu-23-2, sold to 7,500 dollars and then sent back to the front. Those who have purchased it is not clear: its size and capacity would exclude it from most of the criminal arsenal, but it could be an option valid for terrorists, since it can be mounted on a truck and is able to break down planes or destroy armored vehicles.
Here is how the purchase takes place: “We accept cryptocurrencies for anonymous transactions” says the seller peremptory in the chat dedicated to the “customer care” (just to underline how professional and serious the approach of weapon traffickers is. «Try the ease of purchase, the speed of delivery and the guarantee of anonymity. Do it today, you will find out why we are the most reliable place for the purchase of online weapons ».
Obviously, until you pay you can’t be sure you will receive merchandise. But those who have bad intentions are willing to risk something. “Okay, but can you tell us how to prevent the payment from being traced?” We ask uncertain. «All transactions are reserved and not traceable. Your identity and the details of the purchase are never shared, there is no server or database, you can buy in peace ». As? With Monero, a cryptocurrency created in April 2014 and focused on privacy and decentralization.
«There is no doubt that they are characteristic incorporas such as to make it suitable for promoting the fulfillment of crimes, just think of the fact that XMR can be used (acronym of Moneroeditor’s note) Even just to stop traceability of other cryptocurrencies »say encryption experts. Black Market Guns has quickly become one of the most reliable anonymous retailers in the global traffic of firearms, for a series of reasons: the site is translated into over fifty languages, it is well achieved and intuitive, the navigation experience does not give the feeling of being in an illegal virtual place, because the site justifies itself with the excuse of collecting. In fact, weapons are always used or modified, with the abraded serial number; more rarely not recorded (i.e. new but allocated from the origin to the black market). “Our mission is to provide weapons enthusiasts with a safe and interruption experience, allowing you to buy firearms in a comfortable way from your home, regardless of where you find yourself in the world,” they say.
Yes, because delivery is guaranteed in 24 hours for the United States (which suggests that the managers or in any case the weapons are physically in the American continent), while in the rest of the world the timing vary. 5-7 days are needed for deliveries in: Holland, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Romania and Ukraine; About 25-30 days for Yemen and the countries along the African coast.
While in Italy 48 hours are enough to receive them, even if not at home: in our country the couriers deliver only to Sicily and Sardinia; Or you can choose to go to the Vatican city, where in less than a week you can stock up on hand grenades and assault rifles (for San Marino there are 7-12 days). Evidently, both in Sicily and in Sardinia, they have belonging to organized crime that collaborate with these death sellers and which, as for the triangulations of drug trafficking, can provide for all kinds of deliveries in Europe, “for example, using ferries that connect the islands with the rest of Italy because they are not checked” underlines the investigating source. The delivery, included in the price, takes place according to precise instructions provided by Black Market Guns, sheltered from prying eyes: for the withdrawal of the “package”, specific GPS coordinates are sent on encrypted chats and interception test (such as Telegram), which usually indicate an anonymous place such as a park, the parking lot of a shopping center, a petrol pump or a parking area along the state roads. If you want a faster delivery, you pay a surcharge.
To those who prefer to risk communicating their home address, the site specifies that “we usually send packages that appear as components of the computer exactly as Amazon and Aliexpress do or the Total Motor Oil writing appears on the package. It does not go through customs but arrives directly at the address of your home, don’t worry. ” Obviously the customs do not pass, because the weapons follow the same routes as the drug trafficking: trucks with double funds, ships, containers and so on. After confirmation of the payment, “the employee gets in touch with the customer for the delivery options and together you can decide where and when”.
Black Market Guns explains: «The conversation is encrypted and therefore you can talk to the agent safely; We never provide information on the identity or content of the package. All your data are encrypted and deleted after delivery ».
Although illegal weapon trade has a reduced volume compared to other online criminal trafficking, its potential impact on international security is instead significant. To give an order of magnitude, it is estimated that at least 35 million illegal weapons circulate in the EU territory: 56 percent of the total. Only in Italy, it would be 1.5 million. “The vast majority is purchased by small offenders, robbers of port values or mafia hit men” says our anonymous source, data of the kidnappings in hand. “But, having a lot of money available and wanting to attach banks or ministries, only Black Market Guns could provide a group of fire what is necessary to complete the project”.
Before finalizing the purchase of an assault rifle, we make some screenshots on the page and archive. For an investigation, it is enough.
