Dark net dealers dragged into the light

Dozens of people in Britain, including company bosses, NHS workers and suburban professionals, are linked to the sale and purchase of illegal goods ranging from stolen identities to lethal drugs on the “dark net”, an investigation by The Sunday Times has discovered.

In one case, a dark net account trading in devices to hack the electronic locks on cars had been set up by the director of a security company, which boasts of ties to the military and the Metropolitan police.

In another, links were found between a computer engineer at an NHS hospital and a vendor who had sold prescription medication and steroids worth tens of thousands of pounds.

In total, The Sunday Times found more than 50 individuals in the UK, ranging from