With the rising number of terrorist attacks, police agencies around the profoundly affected regions have been working together to combat the risk of attacks.
It has led to most terrorist-affiliated members to devise new methods to acquire different kinds of firearms, where the primary source has been through dark web vendors who offer the required anonymity.
Darknet marketplaces such as Berlusconi Market offer listings of lethal weapons, and anybody with the requested funds in cryptocurrency can access the supply.
With a number of ways of shipping, the firearm vendors reach out to customers from all over the world.
It puts at jeopardy the safety of the general public who are defenseless in such situations and, in one way or another, they end up as the victim of circumstances.
Recently, an anti-Islamic terrorist in England plotted to bomb a mosque in what was to be regarded as a suicide mission.
The 40-year-old man identified as Steven Bishop appeared at the Westminster Magistrates' Court in London for the hearing set before him.
However, the hearing procession was just a short period that lasted about five minutes.
During this time, the suspect was charged with the preparation of a terrorist act and also gathering information which would be useful to anybody who might be preparing an act of terrorizing innocent people.
The Westminster Magistrates' Court only allowed the suspect to confirm his identity and his address.
He was also given a chance to confirm his nationality, where the court confirmed that he was white and British.
The Investigations That Led to the Arrest
It was during the hearing that the court came to understand how the suspect was arrested.
According to the prosecutor, Bishop was arrested after a recovery worker contacted law enforcement stating that the suspect said he'd been planning blow up a mosque in a terrorist suicide attack.
According to the prosecutor in charge of the case, Simon Drew, the suspect explained to her that he would buy Semtex and also a detonator from a hidden market on the dark web.
This was the call for worry that prompted the woman to call the law enforcement agencies in order to begin their investigations immediately.
The police formed a task force to investigate the case, and they started following up the next day.
On October 29, the police detectives went to the suspect's residence only to find that he had visited his mother.
The police then swung into action by rushing to the mother's directed address to meet him unaware.
It was at his mother's residence that Bishop was arrested and the police detectives did a thorough search for any evidence to implicate him in a court of law.
During the search, the police were able to confiscate evidence that clearly showed the suspect was planning a terrorist attack as reported by the worker.
Investigators seized a number of handwritten pages in a drawer. The documents contained information that may be used by a terrorist.
After the prosecutor read out all the charges and explained them to the judge, the suspect, Bishop, denied one count of preparing an act of terrorism and another count of gathering crucial information that would be used in the act of terrorism.
After recording the case proceedings, the chief magistrate, Emma Arbuthnot, decided to send the suspect to the court in Old Baily, London.
According to the court registry, the suspect is expected to report back for a hearing on November 23.
Dark Web Radicalizing Terrorist
Recent years have brought increased anti-Islamic, anti-immigrant discrimination and violence in western nations including Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and beyond.
As countries fight nationalist-motivated acts of terrorism, organized terrorist groups based in the Middle East too are regrouping to increase their scope of war.
Even if they do not plan to physically appear in different countries, they are opting for more sophisticated methods to recruit and radicalize new members.
Using darknet platforms which are encrypted with a number of criterions to filter out the unwanted members such as undercover law enforcement or phishing scams, they are reaching out to their members through common end-to-end encrypted social media platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp.
The number of cases in which the law enforcement agencies have thwarted terrorism plots originating from darknet platforms has increased sharply.
Due to the anonymity offered by dark web communication, the terrorist sympathizers share all their information without worry of arrest.
It is seen, most of the time, that they use cryptocurrency like Bitcoin to capitalize their sympathizers who want to enlarge their war scheme.
There have been reported claims that Bitcoin has been used specifically to pay terrorist-affiliated members anonymously.
It is also known that after an attack is launched by a major terrorist group, most times they take responsibilities through their encrypted channels and also websites through the dark web.
Since the flow of guns has been regulated, with the current high rates of mass shootings in nations such as the U.S., which has suffered dramatically, criminals are in search of videos tutorials from the dark web to create their weapons from scratch.
As the question of online surveillance increases, law enforcement will have to up their game in comparison with criminal's mindset in order to fight their destructive acts.
In the meantime, as history has shown, the dark web will continue to harbor illegal activities without much of the law enforcement interventions.
It will take a combined effort between all the interested parties, and for that case the general public to fight terrorist activities.
Disclaimer:
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