I'm not going to say they are the most technologically sophisticated marketplaces per se. Not doubting that this might be some obvious "litmus" test.

However, I'm willing to bet this is simply due to face value claims around Monero and not because the last mile problems are solved or its provably anonymous was considered in earnest and thereby vetted deeply.

I'm thinking it probably requires some degree of technological sophistication to run an illegal website that traffics billions of dollars worth of drugs internationally. These guys are being actively pursued by intelligence agencies around the world and most of them haven't been caught.

even if they’re only cargo-culting, the ones who use monero will be less likely to be caught. so in the long run we should expect to see them using monero