A criminological examination of the use of cyberspace to traffic drugs in Durban, South Africa.

Abstract

This study focused on the use of cyberspace to traffic drugs in Durban, South Africa. The study comprised four objectives, which were: to determine how cyberspace is used as a tool to traffic drugs in Durban, South Africa; to determine the beneficiaries of online drug trafficking; to investigate the current laws and policies that South Africa has in place to combat drug trafficking via cyberspace and to determine which drugs are most likely to be sold online. The study employed an exploratory research design with a qualitative research method. The data was collected from a sample consisting of eight respondents by using the purposive sampling technique. The researcher collected data using semi-structured interviews and the collected data was analysed through thematic content analysis. The findings depicted that cyberspace is used as a tool to traffic drugs in Durban by providing cyberspace users with the platform to engage in unlimited and secure communication. The use of Virtual Private Networks and The Onion Ring makes it exceptionally difficult to trace cybercriminals. The study found that the youth benefit the most from drugs being available online. The Cybersecurity Bill is believed to be the most recent development in South Africa’s legislature to combat online drug trafficking. Cocaine and ecstasy were identified as the drugs most likely to be sold online. The researcher recommends that there needs to be more awareness around cybercrime and, more particularly, drug trafficking via cyberspace. In addition, law enforcement officers should be provided with more training in order that they are equipped to handle drug trafficking via cyberspace in Durban effectively and efficiently.