Countering Activities Ensuring the Operation of Online Stores for the Sale of Drugs

Purpose of the study. Modern crime, including organized crime, seeks to expand its spheres of influence and, following the progress of modern society, its representatives are increasingly using advanced information and telecommunication technologies in their illegal activities. As a result, new methods of committing illegal acts constantly appear, previously unknown in the theory of criminal law and Russian judicial practice, indicating the digital transformation of crime. This contributes to the formation of favorable conditions for the functioning of Internet resources for drug trafficking, making it difficult for law enforcement agencies to bring representatives of the drug business to the appropriate type of legal liability. Currently, a number of issues remain unresolved related to ensuring the functioning of Internet resources for illegal drug trafficking, namely: 1) activities aimed at developing and creating software that allows data transfer in encrypted form, providing anonymous access to Internet resources of illegal drug trafficking (anonymization); 2) activities related to the rental of subscriber numbers for cellular communications and SIP telephony, facilitating the functioning of channels and pages on social networks that host Internet platforms and illegal drug stores located on them, as well as SMS campaigns aimed at involvement in this area of illegal activity.

Conclusions. Combating the digital transformation of crime, including in the field of drug trafficking, is a complex state task, the effective solution of which without the development of high-quality means of prevention is not possible. In this regard, a number of legislative changes and additions are proposed aimed at minimizing and subsequently eliminating factors facilitating the functioning of Internet resources for drug trafficking.