ED arrests Uttarakhand resident in major crypto-drug trafficking case, uncovers over 8,000 bitcoins in illicit proceeds

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], May 31 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate has arrested one Uttarakhand resident on charges of operating an international drug trafficking group to sell drugs in the US, the UK, and other European countries and receiving at least 8,088 Bitcoins as proceeds of crime, the agency said on Friday.

ED’s Dehradun unit arrested Banmeet Singh, a resident of Haldwani in Uttarakhand, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on May 29.

Banmeet was produced before a special court in Dehradun, which granted ED custody of the accused for seven days considering the socio-economic ramifications of the proceeds of drug money and the involvement of large-scale cryptocurrency.

The ED’s investigation was prompted by a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request from US authorities, invoking a unique provision under Section 2(ra) of PMLA, 2002, indicating cross-border offences. The scheduled offences correspond to violations under the NDPS Act.

The brothers, namely Banmeet Singh and Parvinder Singh, along with others, were operating an international drug trafficking group named the Singh DTO (Drug Trafficking Organization), said the ED in a statement.

“They used vendor marketing sites on the dark web, numerous free advertisements on clear web websites, and a network of narcotics and controlled-substance distributors and distribution cells to sell drugs in USA, UK, and other European countries,” stated the federal agency.

The Singh Organisation received the drug trafficking proceeds through sales on dark web markets, then laundered those proceeds through cryptocurrency transactions, it further said.

Both brothers, the ED said, used monikers “Liston” on a variety of dark web markets, including Silk Road 1, Alpha Bay, and Hansa.

As per the information, ED mentioned, the Singh brothers received at least 8,088 Bitcoins associated with the ‘Liston’ monikers, which is nothing but the proceeds of crime through the sale of drugs in various countries. Banmeet Singh has surrendered 3,838 Bitcoins to the US authorities, which is equivalent to the value of Rs 2,000 crore.

In the instant case, a search was conducted earlier this year on April 26 at multiple locations related to the Singh brothers; thereafter, Parvinder Singh was arrested on April 27 under PMLA.

After the arrest of Parvinder Singh, another search was conducted at the residence of the Singh brothers at Haldwani on May 1 and a seizure of 268.22 Bitcoins, equivalent to the value of Rs 130 crore, was made on the lead of Parvinder Singh.

Currently, Parvinder Singh is under judicial custody and is lodged in Suddhowala jail in Dehradun.