HALDWANI: ED FINDS 268 BITCOINS WORTH RS 138 CR

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recovered 268 bitcoins coins worth ₹138 crore from a Haldwani resident whose premises were raided last week on the instance of US authorities investigating his alleged involvement in an international drug trafficking group.

ET arrested Parvinder Singh last week after it raided his residence in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. ET had reported on April 27 that in a rare instance, ED, while teaming up with the US authorities, carried out a search in Haldwani to assist the US sleuths unravel Singh's involvement in an international drug racket.

After Singh's arrest, Parvinder was remanded to ED's custody till May 4. His interrogation led to the recovery of 268 bitcoins worth ₹138 crore, said a senior official on the condition of anonymity.

ED's probe has revealed that Parvinder and co-accused used vendor marketing sites on the dark web and a network of narcotics and controlled substance distributors and distribution cells to sell drugs in the USA, the UK and other European countries.

The accused then laundered proceeds through crypto currency transactions. People in the know told ET that Parvinder and co-accused received bitcoins which are nothing but proceeds of crime used for illegal sale of drugs in various countries. As per available information, the US authorities have already seized bitcoins valued at thousands of crores of rupees.

The US authorities had been conducting an investigation into the alleged involvement of Parvinder Singh and Banmeet Singh, both hailing from Haldwani. The investigation focuses on their alleged involvement in operating an international drug trafficking group, known as 'The Singh Organisation', said people in the know.

ET had reported on April 27 that "this group utilised vendor marketing sites on the dark web, along with numerous free advertisements on clear web, to facilitate the sale of drugs. Additionally, they established a network of narcotics and controlled-substance distributors and distribution cells. Their transactions predominantly involved receiving payment in the form of cryptocurrency in exchange for drugs, which were then laundered through cryptocurrency wallets".

The investigation carried out by the US authorities revealed that both Banmeet and Parvinder used common monikers on a variety of dark web markets such as 'SILK ROAD 1, AlphaBay, and Hansa'.

The US probe, which involved tracing withdrawals from dark web markets by the Singh Organisation and examining email correspondences with their customers, further revealed that the organisation received around 8,488 bitcoins using these monikers.