A drug market was held in Russia

Five major players came to the place of Hydra, one of them dear to the world leader. There are more prohibited substances

The closure of the world's largest HYDRA drug maiden and the war in Ukraine launched an aggressive redistribution of the drug market in Russia. New venues organize large-scale advertising campaigns and additional services for customers like microcrediting and calling a narcologist for a house 24/7, more and more psychoactive substances (surfactants) are produced in places, and Mephedron and α-PVP have become the leaders of sales and a big problem for doctors. "Cold" found out how the Russian drug market has changed over the past two years.

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The material is written exclusively for research purposes. Drugs harm your health for illegal storage, distribution and production of surfactants are provided for criminal liability.

The HYDRA online drug trafficking has appeared in 2015. She acted as an intermediary between buyers and sellers, following the example of ordinary marketplaces and provided customers with anonymity thanks to onion routing (anonymous information exchange technology) and Tor Brauzer. The buyer chose the desired position on the site, paid it with cryptocurrency, after which he received ready -made coordinates of the bookmarks with drugs.

Hydra was the guarantor of the transaction: the money was transferred to the seller after the client received the goods. The site administrators took part in the discussion of problems with orders and made a decision in favor of the seller or buyer. In addition, Hydra had an online nicop of training nuclearmen (people who hide the bookmarks with drugs), free medical consultations and chemists who tested surfactants, purchasing them as secret customers.

In 2017, Hydra became a monopolist, replacing the main competitor RAMP - the first large Russian drug for the sale of drugs in a darknet founded in 2012. Hacker attacks and luring the suppliers were used, but the decisive blow was the fall of the HTS Crypto-Railway, where RAMP stored deposits of dealers and the insurance budget.

From January 2016 to March 2022, the Hydra turnover amounted to five billion dollars. In 2019, the site totaled 3926 stores in Russia, analysts at the Dark Metrics telegram channel. The approximate volume of annual revenue in 2020 amounted to at least 1.23 billion euros. The site worked in 1129 settlements of Russia, that is, 69% of Russians had potential access to bookmarks. In early April 2022, the German police closed in Germany a network of servers belonging to Hydra. After that, Dmitry Pavlov was arrested - the US Ministry of Justice introduced him to the co -founder of the drug maiden plate.

“Closing Hydra was a shock for the market. The site was convenient for buyers: it had reviews for shops, dispute resolution system (disputes), product quality check, medical consultations. Manufacturers were also not ready for such a situation, ”a narcologist, who wished to remain anonymous, told the cold.

At the same time, the departure of the monopolist almost coincided with the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine. “The boundaries were closed for some time, the supply channels, logistics chains were violated,” emphasizes the author of the project to help drug addict Drugmap Alexei Lakhov. - It took time to transform. As in all economic models: a monopolist died, smaller players have appeared, ”adds a narcologist.

After the closure of the Hydra, users turned to existing, but previously remaining sites in the shade. New players also began to appear: about 20 online markets using the instrumental system, analysts of the Dark Metrics telegram channel noted. Experts surveyed by the “cold” unanimously call the five market leaders today: Kraken, Mega, Black Sprut, Omg and Solaris. “In terms of functionality, the sites differ little from each other,” analysts emphasize. All of them are similar to Hydra: they have a similar system for placing an order and buying substances.

New platforms are conducted by aggressive advertising campaigns

In the fall of 2022, the Kraken platform announced its appearance on the market in one of the advertising cubes in Moscow City. The project launched on December 7, 2022 and called himself the heir to Hydra. “Especially at the start of sales, people are more willing to go to a familiar place than in the new one, so such a presentation was chosen,” says Dark Metrics analyst. - This site has the same types of payment, a logistics chain and a marketing strategy that Hydra had. They have resources for the absorption of competitors, work in the regions and promotion, ”the narcologist notes.

Over the first day, 169 transactions were made on Marketplais, 420 stores, 1374 goods and 8877 positions in 470 cities appeared. In December 2022, a black bus with a marketplace logo and a QR code leading to the site blocked two stripes near the White House on Kutuzovsky Prospekt in Moscow. The store spent a similar advertisement on the day of a terrorist act in Crocus City Hall - a bus with a characteristic logo and sound accompaniment, calling for drugs, was put on Arbat. In April, a criminal case against three people was opened for the installation of this advertisement.

Black Sprut went the other way and with deceit bought the placement of million-plus bloggers on Instagram storosis. They advertised the Octopus Radio with “True Fresh News and Podkasts” and gave a link to imitate the Radio Site, from which it was possible to get to the Shadow Platform. The manager of the artists, responsible for this advertising, on the terms of anonymity, told the "cold" how this happened: "A request for advertising from a certain George from the" Octopus Radio "came. We went to the site and saw that it was a radio, there are really podcasts. No one uses drugs in the team, we are far from this topic, so we could not even think that the site was somehow connected [with a darknet]. They also clarified the possibility of integration: to meet, remove the podcast, which will also be published on the so -called radio. ”

Soon after the publication, Storiz turned to the manager a colleague and explained that they were misleading. The video from the blogs was immediately deleted, and the customer of the message with questions ignored. “The entire media market [in personal correspondence and special chats]: managers, bloggers, advertising purchasers ( screenshots of correspondence are at the disposal of the editorial office. - Approx.“ Cold ”),” says a representative of bloggers.

“The markets that arose after the fall of Hydra were actively engaged in undermining each other. For example, Solaris was temporarily closed by hackers who worked for his competitor Kraken, ”the experts say.

Another contender for the title of the country's chief narcomarket player - Mega - became famous thanks to the channel on YouTube. In the videos, an actor in a black mask with a skull plays Moriarty - supposedly the head of the site. He talks about the shadow side of the Internet and takes an interview with dealers. At the moment, the channel has 2.9 million subscribers, despite the blocking of the profile on video hosting in Russia. Moriarty began to block the video no later than February 2023.

Through aggressive advertising on the Internet, sites are heated by the young audience, including schoolchildren, the narcologist believes.

Online markets are trying to find new competitive advantages-for example, Mega has launched several services for buyers. “In addition to bots for medical and legal assistance, the site recommend tablets that help stop the traction, hold advertising actions like“ bring friends and get Nlockson (a drug that helps with an overdose by opiates. - Approx. “Cold” for free ”, offers a call of narcologists to house 24/7: a person takes off geolocation, and doctors come to it. Not so long ago, microcredit was issued, but now this service is not available, ”says the doctor, who wished to remain anonymous. Kraken was also engaged in the distribution of Noxson: any users who made five or more purchases on the site could receive it for free.

Like Hydra, some of the sites have a pav tests-for example, Black Sprut, Kraken and Mega: their employees pay for bookmarks as ordinary users and test the resulting goods for impurities. According to Moriarty, Mega monthly spends five million rubles each on drug testing.

“In the spring of 2024, more than 12 thousand stores [working in Russia] were in total on five large online markets. This is about three times more [than Hydra only in Russia in 2019]. It is clear that there are the same stores under different signs on different sites, part are dead, but still. Bookmark trading is arranged so that at first they close the demand of the largest cities, and when the work is set there, the local courier becomes a warehouse (curator) and is looking for employees already in smaller [settlements]. Each site has the number of settlements where the bookmarks are laid out over 1,500, and the cities in Russia are less than 1200, ”says Dark Metrics, in a conversation with the“ cold ”.

Brief information about narcotic substances mentioned in the material

Mephedron and α-PVP (“salt”) are synthetic stimulants of the cathinones class. Both substances affect the level of serotonin and dopamine, cause uncontrolled excitement, nonsense, hallucinations, euphoria, but Mephedron additionally creates a feeling of empathy. α-PVP regularly causes paranoia and severe psychoses among consumers, which can be treated for years. Both are relatively easy and cheap in production, which became one of the most popular drugs in Russia.

Opiates - narcotic drugs received from poppy: heroin, methadone and others. They cause a state of euphoria, calmness, peace. The common consequences of use: reduction of immunity, derivation of teeth due to impaired calcium metabolism, impotence, liver damage, infection of HIV infection and hepatitis through syringes.

Carpentinnil is one of the most powerful opioids, one unit of Carpentanil is 100 times more powerful than the same amount of fentanil, 5000 times more powerful than the heroin and 10,000 times more powerful than a unit of morphine. Initially, it was used as a tranquilizer for elephants. Causes a powerful sedative effect, narrowing of the pupils, oppression of breathing.

Amphetamines are synthetic drugs, psychostimulants. This group includes substances obtained from drugs containing ephedrine. Increase motor and speech activity, reduce drowsiness and appetite. Can cause defeats of the cardiovascular system and all internal organs, heart attacks, strokes, psyche changes.

Cocaine is a psychostimulator obtained from the leaves of the Coca plant. Causes a surge of energy and euphoria, as well as irreversible changes in the heart and arteries, which can lead to sudden death

LSD ("acid") - a synthetic drug, a derivative of lizerginic acid contained in the cloth. Usually, paper is impregnated with this liquid, and the so -called brand or a small square of gelatin is obtained. Causes visual and auditory hallucinations.

Psilocybin ("mushrooms") is a narcotic substance that develop inedible species of mushrooms. Most of all, it contains mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe. They cause auditory and visual hallucinations, euphoria, as well as general strong overexcitation.

Ecstasy is tablets, the main component of which is the MDMA euphorus. They may also contain other narcotic substances. They excite the central nervous system, increase endurance, cause euphoria. For extreme emotional load, consumers, as a rule, are paid by apathy, severe fatigue, and depression.

Butyerate (sodium oxybutirate) is a drug that sodium salt γ-hydroxyatic acid. The substance is used to treat neurosis with sleep disorders and for general anesthesia. Reception in large doses causes a feeling of intoxication similar to alcohol. Among the consequences of frequent intake are sleep disturbance, anxiety, tremor, increased or the appearance of a depressive state.

The popularity of Mephedron is growing, the most powerful opiatac appears in the country

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for 2023, the number of registered facts of illegal drug production in Russia increased by 2.5%: from 829 to 850 cases (the data are indicated in the full version of the report of the anti -drug committee for 2023, the document is at the disposal of the editorial office of Kholoda).

“The regions of the Russian Federation began to cook [synthetic] drugs themselves, each has their own laboratory - it is not even needed transportation. In order for the metropolis to choke in synthetic drugs, only three people need: a chemist, a logist, a warehouse manager. All necessary [for production] can be obtained in Russia thanks to the supply of precursors (components used for preparation of drugs. - approx. “Cold”) from China, ”says an narcologist.

Platforms have their own courses for chemists. As of 2023, according to the media specializing in the darknet, Onion News, training α-PVP, mifedron and amphetamine from Kraken cost 100 thousand rubles. The approximate cost of Alpha and Mephedron is from 30 to 70 rubles per gram, and the production of kilograms costs 30–70 thousand rubles. In wholesale sale, half a million is usually asked for it, in a conversation with the “cold” analyst Dark Metrics. Hydra departure from the market, war and sanctions led to a decrease in the supply of imported drugs, experts say.

“Mephedron and α-pvp are replaced by everything: the first replaced cocaine, ecstasy, MDMA. The second is stimulants, methadone and heroin. Both produce in the field, it is simple and cheap, ”the researcher emphasizes.

The leading position in illegal trafficking is now occupied by the N-methyl adeson and its derivatives-they include , in particular, α-PVP (23.3% of all drugs seized; 7.6 tons) and Mephedrone (20%; 6.8 tons), the report of the State Anti-Narcotic Committee for 2024 said. According to Dark Metrics, for example, on June 25, 2024, among the 20 most popular goods on Kraken, 75% were Mephedron. Most of the detentions due to drugs are associated with it-40.38%, in second place are cannabinoids (Marijuana, Hashishish)-28.85%.

The lowest average price per gram of mephedron in retail (when buying from one to five grams), for example, for Mega in St. Petersburg - 1936 rubles, the highest in Kazan is 3218 rubles. Moscow accounts for 34.7% of the total drug sales in the country, 20.75% in St. Petersburg, analysts write.

“Methadone and heroin are an exclusive product. It is difficult to purchase them now. Even those who have been sitting on opiates for many years switch to salt, ”says the narcologist. At the same time, the doctor notes that the methadone in the Russian market remained only dirty. According to the head of the State Anti -Narcotic Committee of the Russian Federation, the Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev, the methadone remains in the first place in poisoning - “almost every third case”.

Experts believe that these are negative changes in the market, because Mephedron and α-PVP cause the strongest dependence, which is difficult to treat. “These substances beat in the psyche much stronger than opiates. Existing rehabilitation programs are not suitable for our patients, since most of them are based on self -regulation - which is definitely not dependent on salts, because these drugs greatly disrupt cognitive functions. The craving for them is compulsive, a person does not control it. In this case, only drug therapy helps: antipsychotics, antidepressants and normotimics in large dosages, ”the narcologist says.

Over the past year, the detention of people with Carpentanils, also known as the “elephant tranquilizer”, added, adds Alexei Lakhov. This is one of the most powerful opioids in the world, even micrograms of this substance can cause fatal poisoning, it is five thousand times more powerful than heroin and 10 thousand times - morphine.

“In 2023, law enforcement agencies seized 8.5 kilograms of substances, this happened in the Siberian and Ural federal districts. At the same time, I think the drug dealers themselves understand how dangerous this drug is. Marketplams categorically forbid to put him on windows, since no one wants his customers to die, ”says Alexei Lakhov.

The growth of sites rests on the lack of couriers

According to May 18, 2024, 61% of stores were looking for couriers at Kraken: 215048 vacancies were placed on the site. The leaders were Moscow - 23657, in second place in St. Petersburg - 5922, closes the three Yekaterinburg - 2115, they note in Dark Metrics. Demand for couriers is growing, which indicates an expansion of online trade.

“Together with the natural loss of couriers to the zone, this is similar to running on the spot: high demand has already managed to grind the main stream of people who want to work, it is becoming increasingly difficult to hire employees, it is impossible to raise payment for the treasure to infinitely, the potential expansion rests in the absence of demented and brave,” analysts say.

Because of this, the cost of surfactants is growing. “If in 2018 the price of one gram of α-PVP was about 1,700 rubles, now from 2200 to 3000. The salary of the courier for the treasure in 2018 was about 400 rubles-today from 800 to 1000,” the representative of the Dark Metrics research project told Kold.

The average salary of the courier in a large city is about 300 thousand rubles a month, the analyst believes. His average portrait, according to an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs : "The young man is 18-25 years old, who came from another region for training or employment and needs funds." Требований к соискателям обычно минимум: «Руки, ноги, отсутствие инстинкта самосохранения, работающая голова, умение общаться с людьми», — говорит Dark Metrics.

По данным медиа о даркнет-индустрии «Хронос», средняя цена откупа от силовиков за грамм мефедрона в России — 22311 рублей. В Москве, пишут авторы материала, эта цифра несколько выше и составляет в среднем 29263 рубля.

Правоохранительные органы не могут контролировать рост рынка

По данным МВД РФ, за январь-май 2024 год зарегистрировано 77558 преступлений по статьям, связанным с незаконным производством, сбытом и пересылкой наркотических веществ. Из них сбыт — 50341, производство — 396, пересылка — 193. Раскрыто больше половины — 47588.

В прошлом году за аналогичный период общее количество было больше — 85,5 тысяч, с целью сбыта — 57,4. Максимальное наказание по статье 228 УК РФ, по которой судят чаще всего, — лишение свободы на 15 лет. «Средний возраст задержанных по наркопреступлениям — 30 лет», — говорит Алексей Лахов.

Сегодня в топе регионов с наибольшим уровнем прироста преступлений, связанных с незаконным оборотом ПАВ, — республики Мордовия и Адыгея, Вологодская область, Карачаево-Черкесская Республика, Чувашская республика, Ненецкий АО, Калмыкия, Астраханская область, Ленинградская область, Ханты-Мансийский АО.

Пик количества конфискованных прекурсоров пришелся на 2021 год, когда правоохранительные органы изъяли 47 тонн прекурсоров и 37,5 тонн наркотических веществ. В общей сложности это 84,5 тонн. В прошлом году тоже замечен прирост относительно 2022 года — изъяли 41,2 тонны прекурсоров и 35,9 тонны наркотических веществ, то есть 77,1 тонны в совокупности.

Криминолог Алексей Кнорре считает , что это может быть связано с выполнением плановых показателей: «Возможно, полиция манипулирует весом изъятого: если посмотрите в перечень наркотиков, увидите, что прекурсором считается любая смесь, в которой есть прекурсор. Как я понимаю, если вы высыпите немного прекурсора в мешок с мукой, у вас по российскому законодательству будет мешок прекурсора, что открывает определенные возможности для завышения количества изъятого. А ведомственная логика показывать все большие суммарные массы изъятых наркотиков каждый год парадоксальна, поскольку демонстрирует полное бессилие с контролем наркотрафика».

«Прекурсоры уже начали производить и внутри России, чтобы успевать за спросом и не зависеть в очередной раз от закрытых границ. Возможно, именно с этим был связан рост изъятий», — говорит Алексей Лахов.

При этом за 2023 год органы внутренних дел пресекли деятельность 225 нарколабораторий, большинство из которых были в Москве, Санкт-Петербурге, Ленинградской и Челябинской областях. Годом ранее цифра была немного больше — 241.

«Правоохранительным органам нужна регулярная раскрываемость, иначе настучат по шапке. Поэтому они больше занимаются небольшими наркошопами в телеграме. На администраторов и создателей таких ресурсов гораздо проще выйти, чем на крупный наркомагазин с миллиардными оборотами», — подчеркивает Алексей Лахов.

Порог входа среди наркопотребителей снизился до 12–13 лет

По последним данным Государственного антинаркотического комитета, в 2023 году общее число пациентов с психическими и поведенческими расстройствами, связанными с употреблением наркотиков, составило 388,2 тысяч. Но специалисты считают, что реальное количество наркопотребителей намного больше.

«По моим оценкам, в России до пяти миллионов зависимых от наркотиков, от алкоголя — 20 миллионов», — говорит нарколог.

«Средний портрет потребителя ПАВ сегодня — человек в возрасте 24–35 лет, житель города-миллионника, работает, употребляет мефедрон и марихуану по выходным. Самые ходовые позиции — 0,5–1 грамм», — говорит эксперт Dark Metrics.

Количество наркопотребителей, обращающихся за помощью, растет ежемесячно. «Только за март было порядка 200 консультаций, в то время как раньше по 60–80 в месяц. Среди основных запросов — ломка от мефедрона и восстановление психики», — рассказывает нарколог. При этом порог входа среди наркопотребителей снизился до 12–13 лет, добавляет он, — и это самая большая проблема.

«Синтетические наркотики, в частности, мефедрон, могут уже за год изменить психику человека. Появляются нарушение воли, памяти, критического восприятия реальности, а также физиологические изменения — спазм нижней челюсти, изменение речи, неприятный запах пота, депрессия, тревожные расстройства, бред», — говорит врач.

За прошлый год в стране официально зарегистрировано 25,2 тысяч случаев острых наркотических отравлений. Это на 14,2% больше, чем в 2022 году — 22,1 тысячи. При этом 484 случая пришлись на подростков, 111 — на детей.

Монополиста не будет, а рынок кокаина увеличится

Недавно аналитики АИПСИН, занимающиеся изучением рынка наркоторговли в интересах правоохранительных органов, опубликовали прогнозы изменения наркорынка. Эксперты наблюдают увеличение партий и рост количества предложений кокаина, потерю лидирующих позиций у мефедрона и α-PVP, появление порошкообразных форм ЛСД. Они ожидают всплеск культивации псилоцибиновых грибов и каннабиса и появление на российском наркорынке синтетических опиоидов из Украины, США, Европы и Китая, а также каптагона — химического соединения амфетамина и теофиллина. Каптагон должен, по мнению аналитиков, попасть в РФ через Украину в рамках «гибридной войны» — при этом аналитики не аргументируют свое мнение в докладе.

Опрошенные «Холодом» эксперты скептически относятся к докладу, но единогласно подтверждают увеличение рынка кокаина. Некоторые аналитики объясняют популярность вещества следующими факторами: появление новых поставщиков с Балкан, конкуренция между мексиканскими продавцами и колумбийцами и, как следствие, снижение цены производства.

Аналитик Dark Metrics уверен, что популярность мефедрона и каннабиса будет расти. «На опиаты нет покупателей в том количестве, которое нужно для развития. Они не нужны ни продавцам, ни администрациям площадок», — добавляет он.

Алексей Лахов не исключает, что отечественный наркорынок уже достиг своего потолка или приближается к нему, поэтому крупные маркетплейсы присматриваются к странам СНГ. «В любом случае новые лаборатории и дальше будут открывать на территории России, в том числе для возможного экспорта в ближнее зарубежье», — считает он.

«Продолжится рост передозировок [наркотиками], связанный в том числе с общим негативным психологическим состоянием людей, смешиванием употребления наркотиков и алкоголя, возможным дальнейшим ухудшением чистоты веществ из-за переориентации [наркодилеров] на прекурсоры более низкого качества», — считает Алексей Лахов. Нарколог, пожелавший остаться анонимным, прогнозирует увеличение количества людей, злоупотребялющими алкоголем, что связано с подоражанием ПАВ и трудностями с прекурсорами, а также предрекает лидирующие позиции мефедрону.

«В текущей ситуации пригодился бы такой подход, как снижение вреда, в виде проверок веществ на примеси, помещений для более безопасного употребления, чистых шприцев. Но на фоне ужесточения законодательства о пропаганде наркотиков, боюсь, даже распространение информации, направленной на сохранение здоровья людей, употребляющих ПАВ, и продвижение снижения вреда станет практически невозможным», — считает Алексей Лахов.

Он также предполагает, что сети мелких телеграм-магазинов будут расширяться. «Несмотря на то, что продавать через телеграм объективно опаснее, а полиции гораздо проще туда внедриться, чем в магазин в даркнете, в обозримой перспективе, думаю, потребители и наркодилеры будут продолжать им пользоваться из-за простоты и доступности, особенно на фоне усиления блокировок VPN-сервисов. Предполагаю, все чаще через телеграм будут продавать аптечные наркотики (психоактивные препараты, отпускаемые в аптеках по рецепту. — Прим. “Холода”) , по крайней мере в ближайший год», — отмечает он.

В недавнем отчете американская компания TRM Labs, специализирующаяся на блокчейн-разведке и сотрудничающая с государственными организациями, отметила, что 95% всех продаж запрещенных веществ за криптовалюту в даркнете пришлось на русскоязычный сегмент. Крупнейшей в мире площадкой эксперты назвали Kraken.

«Есть тройка лидеров [Kraken, Black Sprut и Mega], и, естественно, каждый будет пытаться расширить рынок. Основной сдерживающий фактор развития площадок — отсутствие или ограниченность кадров. Будут они, будет и рост», — говорит аналитик Dark Metrics.

При этом опрошенные «Холодом» эксперты считают, что в появлении нового монополиста смысла нет. «Магазины размещаются на нескольких площадках, так что каждая получает свой кусок пирога. Быть единственным — затратное мероприятие. Это подразумевает уничтожение конкурентов с помощью хакерских атак и физически, что шумно и дорого», — заключает аналитик Dark Metrics.