Brisbane woman charged over alleged dark web purchases

A 32-year-old Brisbane woman has been accused of buying drugs from a “dark web” portal.

The woman was arrested and charged after shipments were intercepted by the Australian Border Force and an investigation by the Australian Federal Police.

Police alleged “the woman used a dark web portal and cryptocurrency Bitcoin to order, pay and organise multiple shipments of illicit drugs from United Kingdom”.

Border Force’s regional commander for Queensland, Terry Price, said in a statement that “people shouldn’t assume the dark web is invisible to Australian agencies”.

“Through close collaboration with our law enforcement partners we are able to detect imports purchased through these sites,” Price said.

Border Force said last year that it had deployed officers to specifically focus on drug purchases being made using dark web sites.

The AFP also last year claimed to have received some data intercepted by authorities who shut down the Hansa market, one of two such markets closed last year.