The dark side of the Web : youths, drugs, and online purchasing

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to collect the perspectives, experiences and expertise of professionals working with entities such as Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, Sedqa, the Malta Police Drug Squad and Cybercrime Unit, and the Customs Department. The data collected will help analyse the possibility of youths resorting to Dark web markets to procure drugs, considering that several empirical data suggests that youths are the cohort that consumes drugs and uses the Internet the most. The findings from the semi - structured interviews were analysed through thematic analysis. This method provided the researcher with honest, vital, and accurate data that would not have been found in existing literature. This study led to the conclusion that it is plausible to state that youths purchase drugs from the Dark web market. Furthermore, another notable conclusion is the fact that Dark web markets are under researched, especially in Malta and statistics regarding it are very limited. This study suggests that further research on the topic is conducted.