2 November 2024
Drug Dealers In India Are Using Crypto Payments
indian law enforcement agencies in India have studied that drug dealers are smuggling drugs through crypto payments. Dealers in the country are using crypto as a mode to buy hard drugs from across the border. Digital currency comes up with anonymity which makes it difficult for the agencies to track the people behind the transactions. Indian crypto exchanges are taking measures to curb such transactions.
India’s federal law enforcement and intelligence agency, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) finds out the new payment strategy after an investigation carried out under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (NDPS). Further investigation revealed that there was an increase in cross-border transactions in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Goa, for contraband items.
As per New Indian Express reports, NCB investigated that crypto payments were used for smuggling drugs and other contraband items from darknet marketplaces in the United States and Canada to India. As a result, these crypto payments have been foxing the agencies from effectively policing the smuggling of contraband goods.
Neeraj Aarora, the Supreme court advocate, arbitrator, and domain expert on cyber laws and forensics, said:
“It is a dangerous trend because cryptocurrency can be bought from a hawala operator and can be used for making payments for the contraband. It will be very difficult for law enforcement agencies to find out the origin of cryptocurrency in such a case.”
Crypto exchange WazirX’s founder, Nischal Shetty, believes that the country should come up with positive regulations for cryptocurrencies to eliminate crypto payments in drugs. If India desires to keep a clean crypto ecosystem, the exchanges in the country must be regulated thoroughly and equipped with adequate security measures.
Shetty further added:
“We are working on a code of conduct for cryptocurrency companies in India, which lays out a guideline for Know Your Customer/Anti Money Laundering (KYC/ AML) and other regulatory-related features. This will help curb illegal activities as well as scams. This way, exchanges can also help the law enforcement agencies as well as educate the masses.:”
Indian law enforcement agencies recently arrested a youth for buying several hard drugs using cryptocurrencies.
Discussion
0 comments