Development of professor R.S. Belkin’s scientific ideas about the significance of an investigative experiment in the context of modern drug challenges with internet technologies use

The article focuses on the significance of the contribution made by the patriarch of national criminology Rafail Samuilovich Belkin, whose 100th anniversary is celebrated by the legal community in May 2022, into the development of an investigative experiment as an independent investigative action. Special attention is drawn to the fact that the types of investigative experiment determined by R.S. Belkin as far as back 1959 are also implemented in the investigation of crimes in modern realities. The specific tasks characteristic for the investigative experiment in the investigation of drug crimes committed using information and telecommunication networks are highlighted. These tasks consist of controlling the suspect’s skills to use the Tor system for accessing blocked sites, buying and selling digital currency, using VPN, downloading the necessary software products. By the example of a specific criminal case, the author illustrates the significance of investigative action under consideration for establishing the mechanism of functioning of a certain online store and the scale of its activities, the possibility of employment as a courier or drug dealer stashing drugs, clarifying the relationship between a person performing a certain function and a higher level group.