Abstract
Specialization in criminal activities generally refers to offenders that repeat the same or similar offenses over time. While some research has found support for offender specialization, most empirical studies suggest that most offenders engage in various forms of offenses during their criminal trajectory and fail to specialize in a specific offense. The aim of this paper is to build on past research to understand the specialization of offenders involved in the online illicit trade of tobacco. To do so, we characterize the offenders involved in the online illicit trade of tobacco, the products (other than tobacco) that these vendors traffic as well as the differences between the offenders involved in the online illicit trade of tobacco and those involved only in other types of illicit trades. We find that a small share of vendors on cryptomarkets are involved in the illicit trade of tobacco. These vendors trade cigarettes, cigars and rolling tobacco generating monthly revenues of $8952 from the sales of these items. These revenues pale in comparison to these vendors’ revenues from non-tobacco product listings ($22,177) and the monthly revenues generated by other cryptomarkets vendors (over $37 million US dollars). This paper confirms the diversification of offenders involved in online illicit markets and extends past research by quantifying the degree to which these offenders are diversified.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
As some vendors sell products for $0, it is indeed possible to make sales but generate no revenues.
References
Aitken CK, Fry TRL, Farrell L, Pellegrini B (2009) Smokers of illicit tobacco report significantly worse health than other smokers. Nicotine Tob Res 11(8):996–1001
Aldridge J, Décary-Hétu D (2016b) Hidden wholesale: the drug diffusing capacity of online drug cryptomarkets. Int J Drug Policy 35:7–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.04.020
Andresen MA, Felson M (2012) Co-offending and the diversification of crime types. Int J Offend Ther Comparat Criminol 56(5):811–829. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X11407154
Antonopoulos G (2006) Cigarette smuggling: A case study of a smuggling network in Greece. Eur J Crime Crim Law Crim Justice 14(3):239–255. https://doi.org/10.1163/157181706778526504
Antonopoulos GA (2008) The Greek connection(s): the social Organization of the Cigarette-Smuggling Business in Greece. Eur J Criminol 5(3):263–288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477370808090832
Antonopoulos GA, von Lampe K (2016) Where there’s smoke, there’s money’: an introduction to the special issue on ‘the illicit tobacco market. Trends Organ Crime 19(3–4):211–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-016-9293-0
Arnott D, Joossens L, Bianco E, Assunta M, Ogwell A (2008) Smuggling treaty could reduce tobacco toll. Lancet 371(9611):458–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60217-2
Aronowitz A (2009) Human Trafficking, Human Misery. The Global Trade in Human Beings. Praeger. Aronowitz, A., Theuermann, G. and Tyurykanova, E. (2010), Analysing the Business Model of Trafficking in Human Beings to Better Prevent the Crime. OCSE.
Barrera V, Malm A, Decary-Hetu D, Munksgaard R (2018) Size and scope of the tobacco trade on the darknet. Global Crime 20(1):26–44
Basu G (2014) The strategic attributes of transnational smuggling: logistics flexibility and operational stealth in the facilitation of illicit trade. J Transp Secur 7(2):99–113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12198-013-0132-0
Billingslea W (2004) Illicit cigarette trafficking and the funding of terrorism. Police Chief 71(2):49–56
Blokland A, Lussier P (2015) The criminal career paradigm and its relevance to studying sex offenders. Sex offenders (pp. 1–21). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118314630.ch1
Blumstein A, Cohen J, Das S, Moitra SD (1988) Specialization and seriousness during adult criminal careers. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 4(4):303–345
Brame R, Paternoster R, Bushway SD (2004) Criminal offending frequency and offense switching. J Contemp Crim Justice 20(2):201–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986204263779
Britt CL (1994) Versatility. In: Hirschi T, Gottfredson MR (eds) The generality of deviance, 1st edn. Routledge, New York, pp 173–192 Retrieved from https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351294430/chapters/10.4324%2F9781351294447-10
Britt CL (1996) The measurement of specialization and escalation in the criminal career: An alternative modeling strategy. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 12(2):193–222
Broséus J, Rhumorbarbe D, Mireault C, Ouellette V, Crispino F, Décary-Hétu D (2016) Studying illicit drug trafficking on Darknet markets: structure and organisation from a Canadian perspective. Forensic Sci Int 264:7–14
Broséus J, Morelato M, Tahtouh M, Roux C (2017a) Forensic drug intelligence and the rise of cryptomarkets. Part I: studying the Australian virtual market. Forensic Sci Int 279:288–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.08.026
Broséus J, Rhumorbarbe D, Morelato M, Staehli L, Rossy Q (2017b) A geographical analysis of trafficking on a popular darknet market. Forensic Sci Int 277:88–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2017.05.021
Bursik RJ Jr (1980) The Dynamics of Specialization in Juvenile Offenses. Social Forces 58:851–864
Christin, N. (2013). Traveling the silk road: a measurement analysis of a large anonymous online marketplace, Proceedings of the 22nd international conference on World Wide Web. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Cohen J (1986) Research on criminal careers: individual frequency rates and offense seriousness. In: Blumstein A, Cohen J, Roth JA, Visher CA (eds) Criminal careers and “career criminals”. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, pp 292–418
Coker D (2003) Smoking may not only be hazardous to your health, but also to world political stability: the European Union’s fight against cigarette smuggling rings that benefit terrorism. Eur J Crime Crim Law Crim Justice 11(4):350–376. https://doi.org/10.1163/157181703322759414
Décary-Hétu D (2017) Datacrypto software tool.
Décary-Hétu D, Giommoni L (2017) Do police crackdowns disrupt drug cryptomarkets? A longitudinal analysis of the effects of operation Onymous. Crime Law Soc Chang 67(1):55–75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-016-9644-4
Décary-Hétu D, Paquet-Clouston M, Aldridge J (2016) Going international? Risk taking by cryptomarket drug vendors. Int J Drug Policy 35:69–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.06.003
Décary-Hétu D, Mousseau V, Rguioui I (n.d.) Le trafic illicite de tabac sur les cryptomarchés, 81
Demant J, Munksgaard R, Houborg E (2016) Personal use, social supply or redistribution? Cryptomarket demand on silk road 2 and Agora. Trends Organ Crime 21(1):42–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-016-9281-4
Dorn N, Murji K, South N (1992) Traffickers: drug markets and law enforcement. Routledge, New York
Die Tabakzeitung (2004) "Tabaksteuererhrhung bei offenen Grenzen ruft Zigarettenma6a auf den Plan", 16 April 2004. See also Thomas Bar, "Sachsen als Drehscheibe", Prager Zeitung online
Dubois G, Tramier B (2002) Cigarettiers et contrebandiers, Revue Toxibase (5):4–5
Elliot DS (1994) Serious violent offenders: onset, developmental course, and termination—the American Society of Criminology 1993 presidential address. Criminology 32(1):1–21
Europol (2011) Organised crime threat assessment (OCTA). https://www.europol.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/octa_2011_1.pdf
European Union (2013) Serious and organised crime threat assessment (SOCTA). https://www.europol.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/socta2013.pdf
Farrington DP (2005) The Integrated Cognitive Antisocial Potential (ICAP) Theory. In: Farrington DP (ed) Advances in Criminological Theory, vol. 14, Integrated Developmental & Life-Course Theories of Offending. Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick, pp 73–92
Farrington DP, Snyder HN, Finnegan TA (1988) Specialization in juvenile court careers. Criminology 26(3):461–488. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1988.tb00851.x
Framework Convention Alliance (2008) How Big was the Global Illicit Tobacco Trade Problem in 2006? Second Conference of Parties to the WHO FCTC. Bangkok, Thailand
Gostin LO (2007) Global regulatory strategies for tobacco control. JAMA 298(17):2057–2059. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.298.17.2057
Gottfredson MR, Hirschi T (1990) A general theory of crime. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto
Guindon GE, Burkhalter R, Brown KS (2017) Levels and trends in cigarette contraband in Canada. Tob Control 26(5):518–525. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2016-052962
Guindon GE, Driezen P, Chaloupka FJ, Fong GT (2014) Cigarette tax avoidance and evasion: findings from the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation (ITC) Project. Tobacco control 23(suppl 1):i13–i22
Hornsby R, Hobbs D (2006) A zone of ambiguity: the political economy of cigarette bootlegging. Brit J Criminol 47(4):551–571
Hrywna M (2004) Prevalence and correlates of internet cigarette purchasing among adult smokers in New Jersey. Tob Control 13(3):296–300. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.2003.006783
Hughes CE, Chalmers J, Bright DA, McFadden M (2016) Poly-drug trafficking: estimating the scale, trends and harms at the Australian border. Int J Drug Policy 31:80–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.01.005
Hughes CE, Bright DA, Chalmers J (2017) Social network analysis of Australian poly-drug trafficking networks: how do drug traffickers manage multiple illicit drugs? Soc Networks 51:135–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socnet.2016.11.004
Iglesias RM, Szklo AS, de Souza MC, de Almeida LM (2017) Estimating the size of illicit tobacco consumption in Brazil: findings from the global adult tobacco survey. Tob Control 26(1):53–59. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2015-052465
Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (2016) An Inspection of Border Force Operations at Coventry and Langley Postal Hubs: March to July 2016. The Stationery Office, London
Jha P, Chaloupka FJ (2000) The economics of global tobacco control. BMJ 321(7257):358–361. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.321.7257.358
John RM, Ross H (2017) Illicit cigarette sales in Indian cities: findings from a retail survey. Tobacco Control, tobaccocontrol-2017-053999. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2017-053999
Joossens L (1999) Smuggling and cross-border shopping of tobacco products in the European Union. Health Education Authority, London
Joossens L, Raw M (2012) From cigarette smuggling to illicit tobacco trade. Tob Control 21(2):230–234. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2011-050205
Joossens L, Chaloupka FJ, Merriman D, Yurekli A (2000) Issues in the smuggling of tobacco products. IN Jha, P., & Chaloupka, F. (Eds.) Tobacco Control in Developing Countries. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Joossens L, Merriman D, Ross H, Raw M (2009a) How eliminating the global illicit cigarette trade would increase tax revenue and save lives. International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Paris
Joossens L, Merriman D, Ross H, Raw M (2009b) The impact of eliminating the global illicit cigarette trade on health and revenue. Addiction 105(9):1640–1649. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2010.03018.x
Joossens L, Lugo A, Vecchia CL, Gilmore AB, Clancy L, Gallus S (2014) Illicit cigarettes and hand-rolled tobacco in 18 European countries: a cross-sectional survey. Tob Control 23(e1):e17–e23. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2012-050644
Kaplan B, Navas-Acien A, Cohen JE (2017) The prevalence of illicit cigarette consumption and related factors in Turkey. Tobacco Control, tobaccocontrol-2017-053669. https://doi.org/10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2017-053669
Kempf KL (1987) Specialization and the criminal career. Criminology 25(2):399–420
KPGM (2017) Project SUN: A study of the illicit cigarette market in the European Union, Norway and Switzerland. https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/uk/pdf/2018/07/project_sun_executive_summary_2018.pdf
Kruithof K, Aldridge J, Décary-Hétu D, Sim M, Dujso E, Hoorens S (2016) Internet-facilitated drugs trade: an analysis of the size, scope and the role of the Netherlands. RAND Corporation, Santa Monica Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1607.html
L’Hoiry XD (2013) “Shifting the stuff wasn’t any bother”: illicit enterprise, tobacco bootlegging and deconstructing the British government’s cigarette smuggling discourse. Trends Organ Crime 16(4):413–434
Lattimore PK, Visher CA, Linster RL (1995) Predicting rearrest for violence amongserious youthful offenders. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 32(1):54–83
LeBlanc M, Loeber R (1998) Developmental Criminology Updated. In: Tonry M (ed) Crime and Justice, vol. 23. University of ChicagoPress, Chicago, pp 115–198
Letkeman P (1973) Crime as Work. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs
Loeber R, LeBlanc M (1990) Toward a Developmental Criminology. In: Tonry M, Morris N (eds) Crime and Justice, vol. 12. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 375–473
Lussier P, LeBlanc M, Proulx J (2005) The generality of criminal behavior: A confirmatory factor analysis of the criminal activity of sex offenders in adulthood. J Crim Just 33(2):177–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2004.12.009
Malm A, Bichler G (2011) Networks of collaborating criminals: assessing the structural vulnerability of drug markets. J Res Crime Delinq 48(2):271–297. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427810391535
Martin J (2014) Lost on the Silk Road: Online drug distribution and the “cryptomarket”. Criminol Crim Just 14(3):351–367. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748895813505234
Martin J, Cunliffe J, Décary-Hétu D, & Aldridge J (2018) Effect of restricting the legal supply of prescription opioids on buying through online illicit marketplaces: interrupted time series analysis. British Medical Journal.
Mazerolle P, Brame R, Paternoster R, Piquero A, Dean C (2000) Onset age, persistence, and offending versatility: comparisons across gender*. Criminology 38(4):1143–1172. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2000.tb01417.x
McCarthy B, Hagan J (2001) When crime pays: capital, competence, and criminal success. Soc Forces 79(3):1035–1060. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2001.0027
McGloin JM, Sullivan CJ, Piquero AR, Pratt TC (2007) Local life circumstances and offending specialization/versatility: comparing opportunity and propensity models. J Res Crime Delinq 44(3):321–346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022427807302664
McLaughlin P (2007) Contraband cigarettes becoming a national norm. CMAJ 176(11):1567–1568. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.070562
Moffitt TE (1993) Adolescent-Limited and Life-Course-Persistent Antisocial Behavior: A Developmental Taxonomy. Psychological Review 100:674–701
Morizot J, Le Blanc M (2007) Behavioral, self, and social control predictors of desistance from crime: A test of launch and contemporaneous effect models. J Contemp Crim Justice 23(1):50–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986206298945
National Research Council (1986) Criminal Careers and “Career Criminals,” (Vol. 2). Washington, DC: National Academies
Nieuwbeerta P, Blokland AA, Piquero AR, Sweeten G (2011) A life-course analysis of offense specialization across age: Introducing a new method for studying individual specialization over the life course. Crime & Delinquency 57(1):3–28
Openbaar Ministerie (2005) "Zeven aanhoudingen in onderzoek naar smokkel van wapens en sigaretten", press release, 7 .
Osgood DW, Wilson JK, O’Malley PM, Bachman JG, Johnston LD (1996) Routines Activities and Individual Deviant Behavior. American Sociological Review 61:635–655
Paquet-Clouston M, Décary-Hétu D, Morselli C (2018) Assessing market competition and vendors’ size and scope on AlphaBay. Int J Drug Policy 54:87–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.01.003
Paternoster R, Brame R, Piquero A, Mazerolle P, Dean CW (1998) The forward specialization coefficient: distributional properties and subgroup differences. J Quant Criminol 14(2):133–154. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023024120766
Persi Paoli G, Aldridge J, Ryan N, & Warnes R (2017) Behind the curtain. Online: https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/53925250/RAND_Behind_the_curtain.pdf?response-contentdisposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DBehind_the_curtain_The_illicit_trade_of.pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A%2F20191209%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20191209T162618Z&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=62f9090ae1ec6d9c9fbfa250434bea5c89452bce0a6075cd2f378b32ed2cdbc1
Pricewaterhouse Coopers (2005) Sales of cigarettes and tobacco products by retail business: an analysis of cigarettes and tobacco products. https://www.natr.org.au/documents/PricewaterhouseCoopersRetailReportMay05.pdf.
Robitaille C (2004) À qui profite le crime ? Les facteurs individuels de la réussite criminelle. Criminologie 37(2):33–62. https://doi.org/10.7202/010704ar
Rubin J, Pardal M, McGee P, Culley D (2013) ‘Polymorphous criminal networks’: considering criminal groups’ engagement across markets. Brussels, Belgium: Publications Office of the European Union
Schloenhardt A (1999) Organized crime and the business of migrant trafficking. Crime Law Soc Chang 32:203–233
Seely A (2002) Cross border shopping and smuggling, House of Commons Library Research Paper 02/ 40
Shelley L (2012) The relationship of drug and human trafficking: A global perspective. Eur J Crim Policy Res 18(3):241–253. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-012-9175-1
Shelley LI, Melzer SA (2008) The Nexus of organized crime and terrorism: two case studies in cigarette smuggling. Int J Comp Appl Crim Just 32(1):43–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.2008.9678777
Shover N (1996) Great Pretenders: Pursuits and Careers of Persistent Thieves. Westview, Boulder
Smith DR, Smith WR (1984) Patterns of delinquent careers: An assessment of threeperspectives. Social Science Research 13:129–158
Soska K, Christin N (2015) Measuring the longitudinal evolution of the online anonymous marketplace ecosystem. 24th USENIX security symposium USENIX Security Symposium. Washington, DC
Soudijn M, & Reuter P (2013) 5. Managing potential conflict in illegal markets: an exploratory study of cocaine smuggling in the Netherlands. Further insights into aspects of the EU illicit drugs market, 31.
Spelman W (1994) Criminal Incapacitation. Plenum Press, New York
Stander J, Farrington DP, Hill G, Altham PME (1989) Markov chain analysis andspecialization in criminal careers. British Journal of Criminology 29(4):317–335
Sullivan CJ, Mcgloin JM, Pratt TC, Piquero AR (2006) Rethinking the “norm” of offender generality: investigating specialization in the short-term. Criminology 44(1):199–233. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2006.00047.x
Sutherland EH (1937) The professional thief. University of Chicago Press, Chicago Retrieved from http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/P/bo3613144.html
Titeca K, Joossens L, Raw M (2011) Blood cigarettes: cigarette smuggling and war economies in central and eastern Africa. Tob Control 20(3):226–232. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.2010.041574
Tracy PE, Wolfgang ME, Figlio RM (1990) Delinquency careers in two birthcohorts. Plenum, New York
Transcrime (2015). European Outlook on the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. http://www.transcrime.it/en/pubblicazioni/european-outlook/
Trautmann F, Kilmer B, Turnbull P (2013) Further insights into aspects of the illicit EU drugs market. Publications Office, Luxembourg Retrieved from http://bookshop.europa.eu/uri?target=EUB:NOTICE:DS3113828:EN:HTML
U. S. Government Accountability Office (2003) Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agencies Should Systematically Assess Terrorists’ Use of Alternative Financing Mechanisms. Retrieved from https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-04-163
U.S. Department of State (2015) The Global Illicit Trade in Tobacco: A Threat to National Security (p. 28). https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/250513.pdf
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2014) The illicit trafficking of counterfeit goods and transnational organized crime. https://www.unodc.org/documents/counterfeit/FocusSheet/Counterfeit_focussheet_EN_HIRES.pdf
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2017) World drug report 2017. https://www.unodc.org/wdr2017/index.html
van Dijck M (2007) Discussing definitions of organised crime: word play in academic and political discourse. Humsec Journal 1(1):65–90
von Lampe K (2005) Assessing organized crime: provisional situation report on trafficking in contraband cigarettes. Trends Organ Crime 9(2):8–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-005-1021-0
von Lampe K (2006) The cigarette black market in Germany and in the United Kingdom. J Financial Crime 13(2):235–254. https://doi.org/10.1108/13590790610660935
von Lampe K (2011) The illegal cigarette trade. In: Natarajan M (ed) International crime justice. University Press, New York, pp 148–154
von Lampe K, Kurti MK, Shen A, Antonopoulos GA (2012) The changing role of China in the global illegal cigarette trade. Int Crim Justice Rev 22(1):43–67. https://doi.org/10.1177/1057567712436843
Wolfgang ME, Tracy PE, Figlio RM (1987) From Boy to Man: From Delinquencyto Crime. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
World Health Organization (2005) Framework convention on tobacco control. WHO, Geneva
Zhang B, & Schwartz R (2015) What Effect Does Tobacco Taxation Have on Contraband? Debunking the Taxation-Contraband Tobacco Myth. Ontario Tobacco Research Unit= Unité de recherche sur le tabac de l'Ontario.
Funding
This study was funded by PMI IMPACT. This program does not create grant numbers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This research was funded by the PMI IMPACT grant program for the project “The Dark Net of the Illicit Tobacco Trade”.
Ethical approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Munksgaard, R., Décary-Hétu, D., Mousseau, V. et al. Diversification of tobacco traffickers on cryptomarkets. Trends Organ Crim 25, 151–172 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-019-09375-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-019-09375-6