Users increasingly use Internet to buy drugs: EU report

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Virtually any kind of illegal drug can be bought on the Internet and delivered by post to users who no longer need to make direct contact with dealers, an EU study published on Thursday said.

It gave no statistics on online drug sales, which are normally conducted on so-called "darknets", or anonymous computer networks.

The report, compiled by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and Europol, the pan-European police agency, said increased globalization and communication technology made it harder to track drug routes.

"Practically any type of drug can be bought on the Internet," Europol director Rob Wainwright told a briefing. "The consumers may feel that it is 'cleaner' to buy drugs without any direct contact with the drug dealer."

These drugs are being moved through legitimate forms of commercial transportation - containers, aircraft and postal services, all making the drugs harder to intercept.

EMCDDA director Wolfgang Goetz said drug users' behavior was also changing.

"Patterns of drug use have become more fluid, with consumers often using multiple substances or substituting one drug for another," Goetz said.

NORTHWEST EUROPE A MAJOR CONCERN

Europol's Wainwright said drug trafficking was the main activity of organized crime groups, providing funding for other criminal activity.

The report pinpointed northwest Europe -- Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium and northern France -- as an area where organized crime is high, partly because of its many transport hubs, and Wainwright said the region's status as a final destination for cocaine and heroin, as well as people trafficking and illegal immigration, made it a major concern.

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Users increasingly use Internet to buy drugs: EU report