In India, the authorities arrested a drug trafficker, who used the Monero cryptocurrency (XMR) for its illicit activities. We take stock.
Monero (XMR) to buy LSD and ketamine
This week, the Indian media relayed the arrest of a drug trafficker, which used the anonymity of Monero (XMR) for its activities. The 35 -year -old accused, a man named Edison, directed the Ketamelon “network”, which operated on Darkweb to send LSD and Ketamine to India.
It was therefore on June 28, that the police launched the “melon” operation, which gave rise to the arrest of the person concerned and the seizure of 130 grams of ketamine, more than 1,100 doses of LSD and approximately 82,000 USDT dollars.
🔎 What is Monero cryptocurrency (XMR)?
While this is the second largest seizure of LSD in the country, an agent of the Nartocis Control Bureau of India (NCB) somewhat detailed the operating mode of the trafficker at the local media The New Indian Express:
Edison ordered large amounts of LSD on the Darknet. He used false addresses and false SIM cards to escape an arrest in case the package containing drugs is detected by the police. Later, when he arrived, he addressed the messaging service directly and received the package. Likewise, false identity cards and false SIM cards from the Darknet were used to send drugs to the people who had ordered him on the Darknet.
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In a publication on X, the NCB shows Ketamelon announcements accepting XMR payments:
LSD and Ketamine for sale by Ketamelon on a Marketplace in Darkweb
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Monero XMR has the advantage of anonymity. If a source reports to The New Indian Express that this cryptocurrency is ” widely used by terrorist organizations and international drug trafficking networks to transfer money However, it is necessary to put into perspective.
Indeed, if such cases tend to maintain the famous cliché of cryptos which finance drug trafficking, remember that the XMR is capitalized only at $ 5.9 billion, an amount which, despite its importance, makes the assets too little liquid for large -scale operations.
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More broadly, all of the illicit transactions, all areas combined, amounted to 0.14 % of all Crypto On-Chain transactions in 2024according to a Chainalysis survey.
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Sources: X, The New Indian Express
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