• Source:JND
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A resident of Uttarakhand has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly operating an international drug trafficking racket, selling drugs in the US, the UK, and other European countries. The accused reportedly received at least 8,088 Bitcoins as proceeds of these criminal activities, the agency said on Friday.

At current bitcoin prices, 8,088 Bitcoins translates roughly to 4700 crore, making the arrest a significant step by the Enforcement Directorate. The central agency arrested Banmeet Singh, a resident of Haldwani in Uttarakhand, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 on May 29.

The accused was produced before a special court in Dehradun which remanded him in ED custody for seven days, based on the facts presented by the agency. The ED's investigation was initiated by a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request from US authorities, utilising a unique provision under Section 2(a) of the PMLA, 2002, which addresses cross-border offences. The scheduled offences correspond to violations of the NDPS Act.

Who is Banmeet Singh

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," the federal agency said.

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

Received Over 8000 Bitcoins

According to the details provided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Singh brothers received a minimum of 8,088 Bitcoins linked to the 'Liston' aliases, representing proceeds from the sale of drugs in several nations. Banmeet Singh has surrendered 3,838 Bitcoins to US authorities, valued at around Rs 2,000 crore.

(With ANI Inputs)