India Has Seen 92 Drug Trafficking Cases in Four Years Involving Dark Net and Crypto

The Ministry of Home Affairs has reported that 92 cases related to the dark web and cryptocurrencies in drug trafficking have been registered in India in the last four years.

A special team has been created to monitor such suspicious transactions.

As many as 92 cases have been reported between 2020 and April 2024 related to the dark web and cryptocurrencies for purchasing drugs, Indian Home Minister Nityanand Rai said in the parliament on Wednesday.

Rai’s response was to opposition parliamentary minister (MP) Jose K. Mani’s questions on drug trafficking. One of the questions asked was, “Has the government realised that there is an increasing use of technology and other online methods in drug trafficking in the country?”

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), a central agency for enforcing anti-drug laws, registered three darknet and crypto-related cases in 2020, 49 cases in 2021, eight cases in 2022, 21 cases in 2023 and 11 cases by April 2024.

The data did not distinguish between how many of the 92 cases were solely darknet-related and how many were solely cryptocurrency-related in terms of transaction methods.

During the same period, 1,025 cases related to packages or courier were reported.

Rai also said that a special task force has been formed to monitor such suspicious drug-related transactions, along with other preventive measures.

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