It has been revealed that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in India has engaged in active monitoring of crypto payments on the darknet as the authorities continue to deal with drug trafficking in the country.
On July 24, India’s minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai expressed what the authorities are doing to bring about a decline in the importation of narcotic drugs, as well as their movement across the country.
NCB data shows inconsistency in the use of crypto in drug crimes within the past five years, with a steady rise in the number of cases of drug seizures involving darknet and crypto over the past two years.
“Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has booked 92 cases involving Dark net and Crypto-currencies whereas 1025 cases involving parcel/ couriers have been reported by all Drug Law Enforcement Agencies during the years 2020-2024 (till April),” said NCB.
Hence, plans to fight the growing problem of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism across the country include focusing on the misuse of cryptocurrencies. “A Special Task Force on Darknet and Crypto Currency has been constituted to monitor suspicious transactions related to drugs on Darknet,” said Rai during a Parliamentary discussion.
Furthermore, the NCB has established several training programs on digital forensics, darknet and crypto. They have established a special task force on darknet and crypto to monitor suspicious transactions related to drugs on darknet.
The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has been able to block several cryptocurrency exchanges over the past several months for not complying with the country’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules. On June 19, FIU announced the imposition of a 188.2 million rupees fine on Binance due to its provision of services to Indians without complying with the AML rules.
According to past reports, cryptocurrency has led to the creation of a favorable risk-reward structure embraced by drug traffickers like never before, supporting sales of narcotics and money laundering.
