What’s the going rate for a murder on the dark web? About $10,000 per hit, according to details of an arrest made by Australian police.
On Tuesday, ACT Police said that a 26-year-old woman is set to face court that after being charged with two counts of attempted murder.
According to police, the woman’s charges relate to an alleged attempt to arrange and pay for the murder of two people in Canberra.
In October, an international journalist contacted ACT Police, saying someone had agreed to an online payment and gave information about the hit, including how to target the two individuals.
ACT Police allege the woman agreed to pay $20,000 for the two murders.
Following the investigation, police carried out a search in the Canberra suburb of Fadden on Monday and seize some computer equipment in the process.
“This was a complex investigation due to the report originating overseas, and being able to track and verify the dark web payment. ACT Policing liaised with international police authorities to seek further evidence to lead to yesterday’s search warrant and arrest,” Acting Sergeant Beth McMullen said.
ACT Police said the victims have been made aware of the alleged order and they didn’t believe there was any further risk to their safety.
By now, it’s pretty well known that the dark web — a general term meaning parts of the internet that aren’t indexed by search engines — contains a seedy underbelly, featuring plenty of criminal behaviour.
There’s a great deal of coverage about the very successful illegal drug trade that occurs on the dark web, and there’s always whispers about people ordering hits.
And what this shows is there are Australians who are at least attempting to find assassins on the dark web to carry out two murders for less than the price of a new Toyota Yaris.