In Brief:
- Binance has frozen the account of the accused at the request of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
- ‘Crypto King’ had made the transaction in Bitcoin to buy drugs.
- Indian authorities are taking measures to counter illegal activity through cryptocurrencies to save youth.
Leading crypto exchange platform, Binance has frozen the account of an accused on the request of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), an Indian authority to investigate drug and narcotics cases in the country.
As per the Incident, the Smugglers and Foreign Exchange Manipulators Act (SAFEMA), Mumbai has validated the NCB’s application to freeze the Binance account of Mumbai-based suspect, Makarand Pardeep Adivirkar, who was allegedly involved in the illegal drug substance LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) with Bitcoin transaction in November 2020.
“The probe has revealed that the accused, who is a part of an international syndicate, held multiple cryptocurrencies and used it to purchase synthetic drugs using the darknet,” Sameer Wankhede, the Mumbai zonal head of NCB, told ET. “There is a thriving ecosystem of using both the bitcoins and darknet in illicit sale of contrabands. This is probably the first case in India where we have managed to freeze the account held by an exchange.”
The suspect is also known as ‘Crypto King’ and has now been under the custody of NCB since June. The drug syndicate came in highlight after the mysterious suicide of Bollywood actor, Sushant Singh Rajput in 2020. NCB and CBI had investigated many Celebrities and people who had connections with drug dealers or peddlers. Recently, Shah Rukh Khan’s son was arrested in a Mumbai cruise ship drugs case.
In 2017, Binance acquired the Indian Crypto exchange platform WazirX, which is also famous among Indian crypto enthusiasts. Currently, Indian youth are shifting towards crypto investment as it gives more profit than others.
While expanding the reach of crypto in India, the Indian government wants to make sure to prevent cross-border terrorism funding and illegal activity such as drug purchases. Yesterday, the Indian PM, Narendra Modi raised concern over illegal activity through cryptocurrency and cautioned about “cryptos ending up in the wrong hands”.
