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Police in South Australia have apprehended an individual accused of drug trafficking and money laundering involving cryptocurrency on the dark web.
Authorities confiscated cash, illegal drugs, electronic devices, and cryptocurrency valued at $1.5 million belonging to the suspect.
Drug Trafficker Allegedly Received Payments in Cryptocurrency
An inquiry conducted by South Australian police, which commenced earlier in 2023, resulted in the seizures and the arrest of a 25-year-old man from Adelaide Hills, whose identity remains undisclosed, suspected of engaging in illegal drug trafficking on the dark web.
As reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, police claimed that the suspect utilized various profiles on the dark web to sell different illegal drugs. Detective Superintendent Rice commented on the situation:
“The investigation uncovered illicit activities on a dark web marketplace, linked that activity to a real individual in South Australia, identified and traced the cryptocurrency involved in the offenses, and ultimately led to a successful search and seizure operation.”
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Superintendent Rice also mentioned that nitazene, characterized as a “highly toxic drug,” was among the substances confiscated by law enforcement. According to the detective, the nitazene, weighing approximately five kilograms, represented Australia’s largest seizure to date.
There have been prior incidents involving protonitazene, which is suspected of causing overdoses and contributing to the death of a young man. However, Superintendent Rice clarified that the dark web drug dealer was not linked to the fatality. The suspect, currently in custody, is scheduled to appear in court at a future date.
Additional Illicit Dark Web Activities Involving Cryptocurrency
In the meantime, there have been multiple cases of cryptocurrency being utilized for criminal activities on the dark web. In July, a resident of New Jersey, John Michael Musbach, paid a hitman on the dark web 40 BTC in May 2016 (equivalent to $20,000 at that time) to eliminate a child who was set to testify against him in a child pornography case. Musbach received a sentence of six years and six months in prison.
Another individual from Nevada, Kristy Lynn Felkins, was sentenced to five years in prison for hiring a dark web hitman service known as Besa Mafia to kill her ex-husband. Felkins transferred 12 BTC (approximately $5,000 at the time) to the site to execute the plan.
A recent study conducted by RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, indicated that judges imposed stricter penalties on Australian criminals who employed Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for their illegal activities compared to those who used traditional currency.
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