Deep Dive: Exploring Organized Crime
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
Recent Episodes
Inspired by the ethos of Silk Road and the lifespans of Agora and Dream Market, a new player emerged from the shadows of Tor in 2020: Archetyp. Built on promises of security, usability, and “ethical” standards, the marketplace steadily grew while rivals rose and fell. By 2025 it served ≈ 600 000 users, ≈ 3 000 vendors, and had moved ≈ €250 million in illicit transactions.
We trace the founder—known as “Yoshi” (BigBossChefOfArchetyp)—and his obsessive focus on operational security. Archetyp required Monero‑only payments, leveraged PGP encryption, offered auto‑encryption of shipping data, ran an anti‑phishing sandbox (“jail”), and used rotating Tor mirrors to stay online.
Beyond the tech, the market stood out for its sleek UI, step‑by‑step guides, powerful search filters, and even built‑in games—making it the “beauty queen” of darknet markets.
Relentless DDoS attacks smothered Archetyp’s fifth‑birthday celebration. Shortly afterward, Yoshi vanished from the forums and an ominous “maintenance” screen replaced the home page—blank and static. A few days later a graphic‑novel‑style video surfaced online, announcing that the market had been seized.
Operation Deep Sentinel—a coordinated sweep led by Germany’s BKA and backed by Europol, Eurojust, Dutch, Spanish, Romanian, Swedish, and U.S. agencies—hit in June 2025. Within days the Dutch data centre was seized, a 30‑year‑old German administrator was arrested in Barcelona, and €7.8 million in cash, crypto and hardware vanished into police evidence lockers.
As the front page flickered to a seizure banner, frantic posts flooded the Dread forum. The darknet community, hardened by previous busts, scattered—but the question remains: Can law enforcement ever stay ahead of the ever‑evolving dark‑web trade?
Speakers:
Sarah Fares, Analyst at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
Louise Ferret, Lead Threat Intelligence Analyst at Searchlight Cyber.
Article:
An Archetypal drug market: Despite the dismantling of dark web drug market Archetyp, illicit marketplaces reassemble faster than they fall
Additional Links:
Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime
Research Links:
https://www.expressen.se/kronikorer/fredrik-sjoshult/polis-svensk-narkotikahaj-greps-i-thailandsk-lyxvilla/
https://www.bka.de/SharedDocs/Kurzmeldungen/DE/Kurzmeldungen/250616_Archetyp_abgeschaltet.html
https://tarnkappe.info/artikel/interviews/archetyp-neuer-darknet-drogenshop-will-an-die-spitze-interview-89885.html
https://darkwebinformer.com/inside-archetyp-the-worlds-largest-darknet-market/
https://darkwebinformer.com/archetyp-in-depth-on-one-of-the-worlds-largest-darknet-marketplaces/
https://x.com/DarkWebInformer/status/1935072384773390568/photo/1
https://slcyber.io/asap-administrator-announces-that-notorious-dark-web-marketplace-is-closing/
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/law-enforcement-seize-record-amounts-illegal-drugs-firearms-and-drug-trafficking-proceeds
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/abacus-market-shutters-exit-scam/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34062381
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article175557206.html
https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/dark-web-administrator-sentenced-20-years-prison-narcotics-trafficking-and-money-laundering
https://www.vice.com/en/article/dark-web-net-dream-market-closed-theories/
https://www.darkowl.com/blog-content/darknet-reacts-to-dream-market-announcement/
https://therecord.media/dutch-and-belgian-police-take-down-encrypted-criminal-chat-platform-sky-ecc
https://www.bitdefender.com/en-gb/blog/hotforsecurity/dutch-bohemia-cannabia-dark-net
https://www.techradar.com/news/mysterious-encrypted-phones-reveal-police-leaked-intelligence-to-criminals
https://socradar.io/archetyp-market-takedown-operation-deep-sentinel/
https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20250621/10811787/musico-e-informatico-aficionado-asi-cayo-mayor-capo-droga-europa.html
https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/europe-wide-takedown-hits-longest-standing-dark-web-drug-market
https://slcyber.io/dark-web/asap/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_kbTRnP6kc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yw_fwoKXBM
https://www.wired.com/story/lin-rui-siang-incognito-market/
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/incognito-market-owner-pleads-guilty-operating-one-largest-illegal-narcotics
https://thecyberexpress.com/incognito-market-exit-scam/
https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/03/incognito-darknet-market-mass-extorts-buyers-sellers/
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-monero-reportedly-stolen-darknet-market-exit-scam
https://slcyber.io/tor2run-out-the-backdoor-exit-scam-or-seizure/
https://slcyber.io/dark-web/bohemia/
https://decrypt.co/39886/closure-darknet-empire-market-believed-30m-exit-scam
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10207-025-01015-1
https://therecord.media/russian-hacker-group-killnet-returns-with-new-identity
https://darknetlivereport.com/2025/05/07/archetyp-market-ip-leak/
https://archetyp[.]cc/
https://x.com/DarkWebInformer/status/1852834054250565899
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCD7vlk1eRA
https://www.trmlabs.com/reports-and-whitepapers/2025-crypto-crime-report
https://www.europol.europa.eu/media-press/newsroom/news/europe-wide-takedown-hits-longest-standing-dark-web-drug-market
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerckhoffs's_principle
https://www.wired.com/story/hansa-dutch-police-sting-operation/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167404818304280
https://cointelegraph.com/news/chainalysis-leak-monero-traceability
https://www.prweb.com/releases/ciphertrace-announces-world-s-first-monero-tracing-capabilities-for-law-enforcement-government-and-virtual-asset-service-providers-871893438.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrHsFZBab4U
https://www.coingecko.com/
https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/
https://explodingtopics.com/blog/number-of-cryptocurrencies
https://www.wired.com/story/tracers-in-the-dark-welcome-to-video-crypto-anonymity-myth/
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/alphabay-alexandre-cazes-dark-web-dark-net-hanged-thailand-bangkok-narcotics-suicide-drug-trafficking-money-laundering-extradition-pornography-bitcoin-a7843626.html
https://www.wired.com/story/alphabay-series-part-2-pimp-alex-91/
https://cybersecurityventures.com/in-the-world-of-dark-web-takedowns-truth-is-stranger-than-fiction/
https://www.coincenter.org/silk-road-corruption-case-shows-how-law-enforcement-uses-bitcoin/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5547423
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/jun/12/bitcoin-online-currency-us-government
Part 3 - "Wake Up! The Bandits Are Coming!"
At the end of March this year, officers from the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) responded to a request for assistance when an armoured Haitian National Police vehicle became stuck in a ditch near Pont-Sondé in Artibonite. The ditch was believed to have been dug by a local gang.
As the MSS officers arrived to help, they were ambushed by armed men, allegedly from the Gran Grif gang. During the firefight, three armoured vehicles were set on fire, and one MSS officer went missing, presumed killed. This incident marked the second casualty for the Kenyans in about a month.
The MSS was deployed to Haiti to help stabilize the security situation and combat the growing power of gangs. Unfortunately, since their arrival, the MSS has faced the same challenges as the Haitian National Police: a lack of manpower, inadequate equipment, and insufficient funding. The gangs continue to maintain the upper hand.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate.
In the final part of this series on Haiti, we will explore the challenges facing the Haitian National Police, the fall of beleaguered Prime Minister Ariel Henry, the rising confidence of the Viv Ansanm gang, the arrival and difficulties encountered by MSS officers, and the escalating humanitarian disaster in the country.
Speakers
Jacqueline Charles, Haiti/Caribbean Correspondent, Miami Herald.
Widlore Merancourt, Editor-in-chief for Ayibopost & reporter for the Washington Post on its Haiti coverage
William (Bill) G. O'Neill, UN Independent Expert on the Human Rights Situation in Haiti
Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, Senior Expert, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime
Sophie Rutenbar, Visiting scholar at the New York University Center on International Cooperation
GITOC Links
The GI-TOC Observatory of Violence and Resilience in Haiti
Haiti, caught between political paralysis and escalating violence - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/haiti-caught-between-political-paralysis-and-escalating-violence/
Kenya’s High Court blocks proposal to send police support to Haiti - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/kenyas-high-court-blocks-proposal-police-support-haiti/
Will the Artibonite massacre be a turning point in Haiti - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/artibonite-massacre-haiti/
Gangs of Haiti: Expansion, power and an escalating crisis - https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GITOC-Gangs-of-Haiti.pdf
Violence in Haiti: A continuation of politics by other means? - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/violence-in-haiti-politics-crime-gangs/
Additional Links
https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/press-releases/armed-violence-plunging-children-severe-acute-malnutrition-in-haiti
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/haiti-violence-hunger/
https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/haiti-msf-vehicles-shot-during-hospital-evacuation-amid-escalating-violence-in-port-au-prince/
https://x.com/MSF_canada/status/1902047605267296637
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/05/02/haiti-us-gangs-terrorist-organization/850f0974-2784-11f0-ae6d-e4db528eba27_story.html
https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/rep/release/risch-mccaul-statement-on-admin-lack-of-transparency-on-us-funding-to-haiti
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article304671816.html
https://usun.usmission.gov/remarks-at-a-un-security-council-briefing-on-haiti-15/
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/11/americas/haiti-us-blinken-security-mission-intl-latam/index.html
https://haitiantimes.com/2025/02/28/us-aid-haiti-security-mission/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPrxUJlAU54
https://www.state.gov/secretary-rubios-meeting-with-haiti-transitional-presidential-council-president-jean/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFnvv3X5MLU
https://docs.un.org/en/S/2024/554
https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/caribbean/haiti/weighing-case-new-peacekeeping-mission-haiti
https://x.com/HaitiInfoProj/status/1845527774507004405
https://north-standard.com/insights-and-resources/resources/news/haiti-civil-unrest-affecting-port-operations
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/haiti-key-port-closed-land-access-after-gang-attacks-2024-09-26/
https://stratnewsglobal.com/world-news/haiti-port-sealed-to-prevent-gang-attacks/
https://ayibopost.com/gangs-engage-in-boat-piracy-in-haiti/
https://apnews.com/article/un-haiti-gangs-violence-escalate-food-attacks-a531646bc9744fc6f68afa5f4485c9ad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1-8D27nhDQ
https://haitiantimes.com/2025/03/26/kenyan-police-officer-killed-in-artibonite/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0ql5yq167o
https://haitiantimes.com/2025/02/24/kenyan-mss-officer-died-from-gunshot-wounds/
https://thekenyandiaspora.com/stories/2008/Police-troops-in-Haiti-destroy-Barbecues-home
https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2024/11/22/haitian-gang-leader-barbecue-escapes-armed-police-confrontation/
https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/barbecue-escapes-ambush-by-kenya-police-in-haiti-4835916
https://www.thestkittsnevisobserver.com/police-shootout-with-gang-in-haiti-20-gangsters-killed/
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-10-15/a-gang-leader-in-haiti-is-injured-in-a-shootout-with-haitian-and-kenyan-police
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3NplOt4VRM
https://halifax.citynews.ca/2024/10/26/gang-coalition-in-haiti-spreads-violence-to-port-au-prince-neighborhood-setting-fire-to-homes/
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/K9FMvMNpn3ukEqdj/?mibextid=oFDknk
https://haitiantimes.com/2024/10/23/government-recalls-police-soldiers-from-vip-protection-amid-gang-attacks/
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-gangs-violence-solino-un-mission-c6bea0069973d723d51d23cbd9110e49
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MfuaczByyg
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/30/haiti-armed-gangs-port-au-prince
https://haitiantimes.com/2024/10/19/gang-attacks-port-au-prince-killed-three-people-and-houses-burned/
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/haitis-police-force-shrinks-amid-gang-crisis-union-2024-01-22/
https:/www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/S-2023-492.pdf
https://haitiantimes.com/2024/06/10/gang-attack-killed-three-police-officers-in-ambush/
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-violence-police-killed-kenya-gangs-84eb8a827967238805827742bbd7bf69
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68896323
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/haiti-gang-war-spreads-upscale-suburb-embassies-evacuate-staff-2024-03-21/
https://news.sky.com/story/prominent-haitian-gang-leader-shot-dead-by-police-as-political-groups-near-finalisation-of-transition-council-13099622
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ThDZY9t8Cw
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article286303630.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/06/ariel-henry-haiti-resign/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68478718
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/04/haiti-mass-jailbreak-violence-port-au-prince-gangs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79sWxhmcQBI
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68462851
https://apnews.com/article/kenya-haiti-un-police-force-gang-violence-30930ccf3cbc31c6969cabd6c9dacb2c
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231002-%F0%9F%94%B4-un-security-council-approves-international-security-force-for-haiti
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-63181481
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/haiti-reaches-a-breaking-point-as-the-economy-tanks-and-violence-soars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2clSUjqzUk
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article265726706.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62292007
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-62162390
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-58706903
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-68542077
https://nation.africa/kenya/news/talks-opened-with-haiti-s-barbecue-for-release-of-murdered-kenyan-s-body-4984342
https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/national/132617/police-ig-kanja-says-search-for-officer-benedict-kabiru-missing-in-haiti-still-ongoing
https://x.com/ntvkenya/status/1910767883505877440
https://x.com/ntvkenya/status/1908587152746688536
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/110325-nps-responds-after-kenyan-officer-mss-haiti-mission-goes-missing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja019VPjfZk
https://nairobinews.co.ke/police-ig-provides-update-on-missing-officer-benedict-kabiru-family-calls-for-more-information/
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/110378-haitian-govt-identifies-kenyan-police-officer-killed-gangs-benedict-kabiru
https://haitiantimes.com/2025/03/26/kenyan-police-officer-killed-in-artibonite/
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/26/americas/haiti-mss-kenya-officer-missing-gangs-intl-latam/index.html
Part 2 - 'Fighting Back'
In 2022, a video emerged of an alleged senior gang member, Zo Pwason, who had been caught by an armed group of Haitian citizens, led by Commissioner Jean-Ernest Muscadin. Zo Pwason was allegedly a senior member of the 5 Segond gang. He was executed by the armed group.
Muscadin declared that “As long as I am government commissioner, the city of Miragoâne will remain a cemetery for bandits”.
In this episode we look at those citizens that have fought back against the growing power of the gangs, and the emergence of the 'Bwa Kale' movement in 2023. These self-defence or vigilante groups protect their neighbourhoods from the gangs, and target suspected gang members.
We'll discuss how the gangs control areas through violence, limiting movement and the frequent targeting women and girls.
But we'll also follow on from the last episode and explore the connections to other illicit markets like drugs and people smuggling, as well as the proliferation of firearms flowing into the country, the vast majority of which come from the US.
And finally, we'll discuss the previous scandal-ridden recent UN mission to the country.
Speakers
Jacqueline Charles, Haiti/Caribbean Correspondent, Miami Herald.
Widlore Merancourt, Editor-in-chief for Ayibopost & reporter for the Washington Post on its Haiti coverage
William (Bill) G. O'Neill, UN Independent Expert on the Human Rights Situation in Haiti
Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, Senior Expert, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime
Sophie Rutenbar, Visiting scholar at the New York University Center on International Cooperation
GITOC Links
The GI-TOC Observatory of Violence and Resilience in Haiti
Will the Artibonite massacre be a turning point in Haiti - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/artibonite-massacre-haiti/
Gangs of Haiti: Expansion, power and an escalating crisis - https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GITOC-Gangs-of-Haiti.pdf
Violence in Haiti: A continuation of politics by other means? - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/violence-in-haiti-politics-crime-gangs/
Additional Links
https://www.devex.com/news/in-haiti-no-one-is-surprised-by-the-oxfam-scandal-92342
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/25/haitians-wary-as-kenyan-police-arrive-on-latest-us-backed-mission
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/12/oxfam-scandal-deepens-allegations-sex-aid-abuse-charity-shops/
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/oxfam-child-abuse-haiti-scandal-inquiry-sexual-exploitation-charity-commission-a8953566.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-48593401
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jun/15/timeline-oxfam-sexual-exploitation-scandal-in-haiti
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c04UG5-T_IM&t=3s
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/6/un-peacekeepers-leave-haiti-what-is-their-legacy
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/15/americas/haiti-un-peacekeepers-trust-fund-sexual-abuse-as-equals-intl-cmd/index.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miwOl12A2fE
https://www.reuters.com/article/world/haitians-say-underaged-girls-were-abused-by-un-peacekeepers-idUSKBN1YM27V/
https://insightcrime.org/haiti-organized-crime-news/jimmy-cherizier-alias-barbecue/
https://minujusth.unmissions.org/la-minujusth-condamne-les-violences-commis-%C3%A0-grand-ravine-et-appelle-les-autorit%C3%A9s-nationales-%C3%A0
https://haitiantimes.com/2018/11/14/a-u-n-backed-police-force-carried-out-a-massacre-in-haiti-the-killings-have-been-almost-entirely-ignored/
https://theintercept.com/2018/01/10/haiti-raid-united-nations-police-grand-ravine/
https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON427
https://www.cdc.gov/orr/responses/haiti-cholera-outbreak.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/18/world/americas/united-nations-haiti-cholera.html?_r=0
https://www.queensu.ca/gazette/stories/call-un-help-haitians-affected-cholera
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-37126747
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/04/un-chief-antonio-guterres-internal-criticism-human-rights/
https://press.un.org/en/2016/sgsm18323.doc.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hMrUqO2n0c
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2011/05/06/136049974/verdict-haitis-cholera-outbreak-originated-in-u-n-camp
https://www.dec.org.uk/article/2010-haiti-earthquake-facts-and-figures
https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/8732
https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/mission/minustah
https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/about/about-nypd/about-nypd-landing.page
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/25/world/americas/haiti-political-instability-bsap.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-68518921
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-40365766
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/05/guy-philippe-haiti-senate
https://insightcrime.org/haiti-organized-crime-news/guy-philippe/
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article139045528.html
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https:/insightcrime.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/guy-philippe-indictment_compressed.pdf
https://lenouvelliste.com/en/article/250174/miragoane-protest-in-support-of-jean-ernest-muscadin
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-41235-haiti-justice-two-government-commissioners-receive-a-reprimand-from-the-ministry-of-justice.html
https://canada-haiti.ca/content/interview-commissioner-jean-ernest-muscadin
https://x.com/GazetteHaiti/status/1531686831607140354
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36809-haiti-news-zapping.html
https://gazettehaiti.com/index.php/node/7144
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23RoDKn-Vz0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGnieIule50
https://rezonodwes.com/?p=320413
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/30/haiti-port-au-prince-violence-gangs-police
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5r_q79Wqwc
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39382-haiti-canape-vert-more-than-a-dozen-bandits-lynched-and-burned-by-the-population.html
https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2023/06/27/we-cant-find-support-three-womens-stories-repeated-rape-haitian-gangs
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https:/www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2024-07/Addressing-Haitian-womens-particular-needs-through-their-leadership-role-en.pdf
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/07/1152206
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/haiti/overview
https://docs.un.org/en/S/2024/320
https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4064141/files/S_2024_752-EN.pdf
https://suntci.com/american-tourist-killed-policeman-shot-as-gang-violence-intensifies-in-tur-p8242-129.htm
https://www.loopnews.com/content/gang-violence-surge-in-turks-and-caicos-related-to-transnational-crime/
https://ht.usembassy.gov/florida-resident-sentenced-for-smuggling-firearms-from-united-states-to-violent-haitian-gang-that-kidnapped-19-americans/
https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/king-violent-haitian-gang-sentenced-35-years-prison-gun-smuggling-and-money-laundering
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eInOaNVs_c
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article261029297.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/haiti-ap-santo-domingo-dominican-republic-associated-press-b2651596.html
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20250305/dominican-republic-seizes-weapons-and-thousands-ammunition-destined-haiti
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fPOOGyJRWQ
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article275443291.html
https://www.statista.com/statistics/715019/homicide-rates-in-latin-america/
https://ocindex.net/country/jamaica
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/13/jamaica-gang-crime-police
https://ocindex.net/country/haiti
https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20200210/fishing-guns-old-harbour-bay-boatmen-rake-profits-drugs-arms
https://insightcrime.org/news/jamaica-haiti-drugs-guns/
https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwi/pr/colombian-national-extradited-face-international-narcotics-trafficking-conspiracy
https://www.rhinews.com/justice/liberation-de-jean-eliobert-eddy-one-jasme-un-scande-de-plus-pour-la-justice-haitienne-selon-pierre-esperance/
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article260192325.html
https://insightcrime.org/news/extradition-drug-smuggler-underscores-haitis-historical-cocaine-transit-hub-status/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD9M4i-I0tI
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/the-men-behind-haiti-s-rebellion-infamous-2816773.php
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article19047087.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article11959538.html
https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/pubs/states/newsrel/mia072505a.html
https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg86391.html
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2004/02/26/drug-runner-implicates-aristide/
https://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-haitian-drug-lord-jacques-ketant-7001667
https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/us-deports-former-haiti-cocaine-kingpin/
https://insightcrime.org/news/unearthing-aristides-convicted-confidant/
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-04-02-mn-44460-story.html
https://www.democracynow.org/2004/3/3/the_haitian_army_returns_who_is
https://insightcrime.org/haiti-organized-crime-news/guy-philippe/
https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/08/world/a-leader-of-former-haitian-junta-is-charged-with-smuggling-tons-of-drugs-to-us.html
https://x.com/tv_elshaddai/status/1534018710947643392/video/1
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36882-haiti-flash-the-izo-gang-kidnaps-38-passengers-and-the-drivers-of-2-minibuses-video.html
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36809-haiti-news-zapping.html
https://gazettehaiti.com/index.php/node/7144
Part 1 - "The Death of a President"
In July 2021, the President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated as he slept at home by a band of mercenaries. His murder sparked a wave of violent protests and a period of unprecedented crisis in the small Caribbean nation that the country has still yet to address nearly four years later.
For a long time, violent gangs were used by politicians to win elections, harass political opponents and stamp out opposition. But the political vacuum and ensuing chaos after the death of the President has seen their power grow immensely. They have committed horrendous atrocities against the population that control and each other.
Massacres, extortion, mass rape, looting, and blockades have brought about a situation where gangs control an estimated 90% of the capital Port-au-Prince. It has created a humanitarian situation of catastrophic proportions, as over one-million Haitians have been internally displaced as a result of the violence.
In Part 1 of Living Together: The Gangs of Haiti, we chart the fallout from the President's murder, the brutal expansion of the gangs power and influence, as well as the relationship between political and economic actors with those same gangs.
Speakers
Jacqueline Charles, Haiti/Caribbean Correspondent, Miami Herald.
Widlore Merancourt, Editor-in-chief for Ayibopost & reporter for the Washington Post on its Haiti coverage
William (Bill) G. O'Neill, UN Independent Expert on the Human Rights Situation in Haiti
Romain Le Cour Grandmaison, Senior Expert, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime
GITOC Links
The GI-TOC Observatory of Violence and Resilience in Haiti
Will the Artibonite massacre be a turning point in Haiti - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/artibonite-massacre-haiti/
Gangs of Haiti: Expansion, power and an escalating crisis - https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GITOC-Gangs-of-Haiti.pdf
Violence in Haiti: A continuation of politics by other means? - https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/violence-in-haiti-politics-crime-gangs/
Additional Links
https://haitiantimes.com/fr/2021/07/27/gang-boss-leads-protest-rally-against-moise-assassination/
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/07/24/haiti-held-hostage
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210714-haiti-crime-boss-threatens-syrian-and-lebanese-businesses-following-presidents-assassination/
https://www.nytimes.com/es/2021/07/13/espanol/haiti-soldados-colombianos.html
https://haitiantimes.com/2023/12/20/haitian-senator-sentenced-moise-assassination/
https://haitiantimes.com/2025/02/12/badio-denies-jovenel-moise-assassination/
https://www.caribbean-council.org/ariel-henry-sworn-in-as-new-haitian-prime-minister/
https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/haiti/handling-aftermath-haitis-presidential-assassination
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/charles-ap-jovenel-moise-haiti-portauprince-b2498871.html
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/haiti-moves-constitutional-referendum-september-2021-06-29/
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2021/0330/The-battle-for-democracy-goes-on-in-Haiti-as-Moise-gains-power
https://www.freedomskn.com/haiti-leader-urges-calm-requests-help-in-nations-crisis/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-56069575
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/09/haiti-police-say-26-colombians-two-us-haitians-took-part-in-jovenel-moise-assassination-president
https://news.sky.com/story/wife-of-assassinated-haiti-president-jovenel-moise-speaks-from-hospital-bed-12353342
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m9qR6Lv8_I
https://english.elpais.com/usa/2021-07-12/anatomy-of-an-assassination-the-final-hours-of-president-jovenel-moise.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFlRoCErQVU&t=6s
https://ayibopost.com/construction-work-underway-at-village-of-god-viv-ansanm-is-tearing-down-the-lower-part-of-the-town/
https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/articles/c3gq57qzxn8o
https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/johnson-andre
https://insightcrime.org/news/haiti-crime-boss-death-signals-possible-shift-in-balance-of-power/
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/26/americas/lambert-haiti-senate-henry-intl-latam/index.html
https://haitiantimes.com/es/2021/10/20/strike-in-port-au-prince-other-cities-around-haiti-held-to-protest-gangs/
https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-port-au-prince-kidnapping-haiti-b1afcce986e48e51084f4e4096877a05
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35086-haiti-flash-deprived-of-fuel-by-gangs-the-country-at-the-gates-of-hell.html
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/4/haiti-gang-leaders-calls-on-us-un-to-break-ties-with-govt
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-35096-haiti-flash-barbecue-demands-the-resignation-of-the-pm-against-the-resupply-of-fuel-in-the-country.html
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/12/haitian-gang-leader-says-he-will-temporarily-lift-fuel-blockades
https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/haiti-earthquake-facts
https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20210803-m%C3%A9decins-sans-fronti%C3%A8res-closes-hospital-in-haiti-amid-rising-gang-violence
https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2021-07-12/haiti-gangs-complicate-recovery-effort-assassination
https://www.wsj.com/articles/haiti-on-brink-of-anarchy-amid-hunger-gang-violence-and-power-vacuum-11626130421
http://hrp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Killing_With_Impunity-1.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBS35l7nXno
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3zw2dpqgpo
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1158506
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-44412-haiti-rep-dom-26-haitian-gangs-declared-terrorist-organizations-list.html
https://lenouvelliste.com/article/240533/la-police-aux-trousses-du-chef-de-gang-vitelhomme-innocent
https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/vitelhomme-innocent
https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/vitel-homme-innocent-added-to-fbis-ten-most-wanted-fugitives-list
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/29/americas/haiti-gang-vitelhomme-innocent-kraze-barye-intl-latam/index.html
https://binuh.unmissions.org/en/haiti-human-rights-situation-remains-very-alarming
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/02/1159791
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/25/opinion/haiti-kidnapping-gangs.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/20/haiti-kidnapping-abduction-missionaries
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/kidnapping-haiti-shines-spotlight-gangs-risk-experts-say-2021-10-19/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/16/haiti-missionaries-released-gang-kidnapped
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zse1_Ou34k
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-61379106
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-iska-gang-killed-g9-e7aebb1321e4dabfb09810ceb1f999b0
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article274274865.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tDjORVkjoA
https://www.instagram.com/haitivisuelle/p/C8r9V6NO1CO/?img_index=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtjQuBmzjsw
https://www.instagram.com/haitivisuelle/reel/DCk13ejxzNj/
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article217110220.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/26/world/haiti-fuel-hospital-intl-latam/index.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article245045015.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article298345513.html
https://haitichannelnetwork.com/haiti-la-coalition-des-gangs-armes-viv-ansanm-desormais-transformee-en-parti-politique/
https://main.un.org/securitycouncil/en/content/prophane-victor
https://haitiantimes.com/2024/10/04/gran-grif-gang-attack-pont-sonde/
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-gang-attack-pontsonde-gran-grif-1a45faafb929a605f30af4efd8454aeb
https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15837.doc.htm
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2612
https://lesobservateurs.ch/2025/02/21/horreur-a-haiti-un-bebe-de-2-mois-jete-dans-un-feu-par-des-membres-dun-gang-la-mere-decede-de-chagrin-la-societe-est-sous-le-choc/
https://www.leplacentin.com/societe/15-02-2025-kenscoff-eliana-thelemaque--decede-apres-avoir-assiste-a-la-mort-tragique-de-son-bebe
https://www.martinique.franceantilles.fr/actualite/faitsdivers/haiti-une-mere-meurt-apres-avoir-vu-son-bebe-de-deux-mois-brule-par-des-gangs-1024271.php
https://mag2news.com/horreur-a-kenscoff-lhistoire-deliana-thelemaque-et-du-meurtre-de-son-enfant/
https://www.instagram.com/facesofhaiti/p/DGKHyFvswNh/?hl=en&img_index=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU6i0yfADfk
https://haitiantimes.com/2025/02/10/kenscoff-gang-attack-displacement/
https://apnews.com/article/haiti-gang-violence-kenscoff-capital-97e5fd96b963670a4faf8675d1ea7310
https://haitiantimes.com/2025/01/28/several-gang-killed-by-police-in-haiti-kenscoff/
https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/news/action-against-ndrangheta-criminal-organisation-34-arrests
https://www.justiceinfo.net/en/134262-waste-crime-in-italy-the-challenge-of-environmental-justice.html
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44873067
https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Organized-crime/INTERPOL-COOPERATION-AGAINST-NDRANGHETA-I-CAN-Phase-2
https://www.worldfinance.com/markets/power-and-profits-welcome-to-the-mafia
https://euroweeklynews.com/2024/12/13/mafias-gobbling-up-italys-tourism-industry/
https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/ndrangheta-arrests-europe/
https://www.occrp.org/en/news/ndrangheta-linked-asphalt-billionaire-loses-eur212-million
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/haiti/overview
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1208
https://insightcrime.org/haiti-organized-crime-news/g9-family-profile/
https://www.rhinews.com/justice/fednel-monchery-accuse-dimplication-dans-le-massacre-de-la-saline-arrete-puis-relache-illico/
https://ayibopost.com/under-threat-the-police-officers-who-had-arrested-fednel-monchery-are-fleeing-haiti/
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https:/hrp.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Killing_With_Impunity-1.pdf
https://www.miamiherald.com/article230380739.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article290253054.html
https://x.com/hashtag/petrocaribechallenge?src=hashtag_click
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAvLTOwi4IU
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/haiti/article214490259.html
If you were to walk around a Russian city, you might not realise it but hundreds of small packages of drugs, could be just below the surface, buried in the ground, or maybe attached to the back of a nearby drainpipe with magnets, or hidden inside a hole in a wall. These little "treasures" have been ordered online from a vendor operating on a darknet platform and then hidden by couriers known as 'Kladmen' all over the place waiting to be collected - this is the "dead drop" method.
The darknet markets servicing Russia have revolutionized the illicit drug markets in the country, which has seen an explosion in the consumption of synthetic drugs like methadone, mephedrone or Alpha-PVP. The vendors run a network of chemists, wholesalers, and Kladmen. Sportsman, hired thugs, roam around looking for Seagulls (people who steal dead drops) and punishing Kladmen on behalf of vendors, before uploading the punishments to social media as a warning to others.
For many years, Hydra, the largest DNM the world has ever known, defeated all competition and reigned supreme, handling over $5 billion dollars of cryptocurrency during its lifespan. But in 2022, it was taken down and like the mythical beast it was named after, new heads sprouted in its place - OMG!OMG!, Mega, Kraken, Blacksprut - all vying for position, competing for market share and creating the most audacious public marketing stunts and highly produced online videos.
The DNMs, with connections to the precursor markets of China and India, operate on TOR, have pushed synthetic drugs into all corners of Russia, democratizing the production process, with how-to guides and readily available lab equipment, and even created an apprenticeship scheme for prospective Kladmen, with a guaranteed job at the end.
The whole process is highly anonymised from production to transportation, and from purchase to delivery through the dead drop method. We have seen darknet markets affecting the drug appetites of an entire nation and beyond.
Speaker(s):
Max Daly, Journalist who specialises in drugs and organized crime. He is an Orwell Prize winner, co-authored of the book Narcomania and the co-author of the GITOC paper 'Breaking Klad: Russia’s Dead Drop Drug Revolution'.
Patrick Shortis, Senior Blockchain Intelligence Analyst working on the illicit drugs program at TRM Labs and co-author of the GI’s paper ‘Breaking Klad: Russia’s Dead Drop Drug Revolution’.
Links:
Breaking Klad: Russia’s Dead Drop Drug Revolution
Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime
(Podcast) “Death Can Wait”: Drugs on the Frontline in Ukraine
Additional Links:
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0701
https://meph.lenta.ru/articles/1-popularity
https://lenta.ru/news/2024/11/27/borby-s-rasprostraneniem-narkotikov/
https://lenta.ru/news/2024/11/27/milonov-predlozhil-proverit-vseh-rossiyan-na-narkotiki/
https://lenta.ru/news/2024/11/28/v-gosdume-vyskazalis-ob-epidemii-mefedrona-v-rossii/
https://argumenti.ru/society/2023/06/838979
https://www.tiktok.com/@brem100/video/7242272283954253058?lang=en
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWTmaRvpViw
https://www.tiktok.com/@moriarti.dark/video/7271777133335153926
https://sevastopol.su/news/v-krymu-proshel-sud-nad-blogershey-yuley-finess
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2024/02/07/when-a-college-student-challenged-russia-s-top-censorship-activist-at-her-q-a-event-she-responded-by-threatening-him-with-prosecution
https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/12/20/mother-russia-en
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Obukhovets,+Leningrad+Oblast,+Russia,+187047/@59.4806054,31.2688815,13z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x46bdb94966834f73:0xbfe5e983110f840f!8m2!3d59.4952008!4d31.2902649!16s%2Fg%2F1pzpdbhfc?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5899910
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Brilliant_green
https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Vory-Russias-Super-Mafia/dp/B07CS7BZ89/ref=sr_1_1?nsdOptOutParam=true&sr=8-1
https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/news/cyber-vault/2019-12-13/silk-road-investigation-dea-secret-service-agents-involvement-online-black-market-site
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-dea-agent-sentenced-extortion-money-laundering-and-obstruction-related-silk-road
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2013/11/08/meet-the-silk-road-employee-that-the-dread-pirate-roberts-allegedly-tried-to-murder/
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/administrator-silk-road-website-and-drug-vendor-plead-guilty-drug-conspiracy
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/04/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-drugs-murder
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2436643
https://t.me/IrinaVolk_MVD/826
https://t.me/skgovby/8901 /
https://lenta.ru/articles/2022/03/24/sportiki/
https://darknark.lenta.ru/article/part3-broken-lives
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/09/24/russia-moves-to-allow-criminal-defendants-to-fight-in-ukraine-a86456
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/10/01/russias-army-plans-to-enlist-20k-criminal-defendants-for-ukraine-war-istories-a86534
https://www.legal-tools.org/doc/8eed35/pdf/
https://severpost.ru/read/180945/
https://socradar.io/beyond-hacktivism-deanon-club-killnet-and-the-russian-dark-web-market-wars/
https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/hostile-takeover-kraken-hacks-rival-dark-market-solaris-a-20986
https://therecord.media/pro-kremlin-hackers-target-latvias-parliament-after-declaring-russia-a-sponsor-of-terrorism
https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/pro-kremlin-hackers-killnet-hit-latvia-with-biggest-cyberattack-in-its-history-2jvmp8hk7
https://www.bitdefender.com/en-gb/blog/hotforsecurity/pro-russian-killnet-group-hits-us-airline-websites-with-ddos-attack
https://www.darkreading.com/cloud-security/killnet-ddos-attack-royal-family-website
https://dzen.ru/b/Y-5DIbb7bh7QW5SR
https://m.vk.com/wall-66678575_81399673?lang=en
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvlY2tn8Sh0
https://www.youtube.com/@Jessica_Ocean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_592OyIvV5U
https://lenta.ru/news/2024/12/02/organizatoram-torgovavshey-po-vsey-rossii-narkoimperii-vynesli-prigovor/
https://therecord.media/hyrda-darknet-drug-marketplace-kingpin-sentenced-life-russia
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/12/02/russia-sentences-alleged-founder-of-hydra-darknet-site-to-life-in-prison-a87198
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-61002904
https://flashpoint.io/resources/research/flashpoint-and-chainalysis-investigate-hydra-where-cryptocurrency-cybercrime-goes-dark/
https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1490906/dl
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-investigation-leads-shutdown-largest-online-darknet-marketplace
https://www.darkowl.com/blog-content/russians-on-the-darknet-part-ii-marketplaces-amp-forums/
https://socradar.io/under-the-spotlight-ramp-forum/
https://tass.ru/proisshestviya/4572560
https://darknark.lenta.ru/article/part1-the-war
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/us-charges-three-men-with-creating-and-running-first-ever-mirai-botnet/
https://www.zdnet.com/article/dyn-confirms-mirai-botnet-involved-in-distributed-denial-of-service-attack/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/03/cyberattack-internet-liberia-ddos-hack-botnet
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/failed-mirai-botnet-campaign-takes-900000-germans-offline/
https://explodingtopics.com/blog/iot-stats
https://spectrum.ieee.org/mirai-botnet
https://www.radware.com/security/ddos-knowledge-center/ddospedia/mirai/
https://www.ntv.ru/novosti/1760880/
https://66.ru/news/society/250870/
https://globalinitiative.net/analysis/deep-dive-podcast/
https://finance.rambler.ru/markets/48548669-mif-o-russkoy-gidre-chem-zakonchilas-istoriya-krupneyshey-ploschadki-po-prodazhe-narkotikov-i-konchilas-li/
https://tass.com/society/866067
https://www.wired.com/2014/11/operation-onymous-dark-web-arrests/
https://www.wired.com/2014/12/interview-darkside-russias-favorite-dark-web-drug-lord/
https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/how-darknet-markets-fought-for-users-in-wake-of-hydra-collapse-2022/