Reading Time: 2 minutesBanmeet Singh, a 40-year-old Indian national, recently admitted guilt in a $150 million dark web drug enterprise
Singh headed up an international drug rung selling controlled substances such as fentanyl and LSD.
Singh was arrested in London and could face up to eight years in prison.

An Indian national residing in the country recently pleaded guilty to Department of Justice charges related to a $150 million dark web drug enterprise. Banmeet Singh, 40, of Haldwani, India, admitted to being a vendor on notorious dark web platforms like Silk Road, Alpha Bay, and Hansa, selling various controlled substances such as fentanyl, LSD, ecstasy, Xanax, Ketamine, and Tramadol. Singh will forfeit $150 million, accepted as cryptocurrencies on the sites, as part of the deal and faces up to eight years in prison.

Five-year Operation Netted $150 Million

Singh began his operation in mid-2012 when Silk Road was hitting its stride, overseeing the shipment of controlled substances from Europe to the United States using US mail or other shipping services. The operation ran until July 2017, with Singh controlling at least eight distribution cells across the United States, including states like Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, North Dakota, and Washington.

Within this extensive network, individuals in distribution cells received drug shipments from overseas, repackaged the substances, and subsequently shipped them to locations spanning all 50 states and internationally to Canada, England, Ireland, Jamaica, Scotland, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Throughout the conspiracy, Singh’s operation moved hundreds of kilograms of controlled substances throughout the United States, establishing a lucrative multimillion-dollar drug enterprise. The illicit proceeds were laundered through various cryptocurrency accounts, accumulating to an approximate value of $150 million.

Singh Arrested in 2019

Officers from the UK’s National Crime Agency raided Singh’s home in April 2019 on a US arrest warrant, where he was arrested and all his electronic devices seized. The United States successfully secured his extradition in 2023.

Having pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to commit money laundering, Singh now faces an agreed-upon sentence of eight years in prison. A sentencing date is yet to be determined, with a federal district court judge tasked with considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors in the final determination of the sentence.

 

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ January 30, 2024 9:21 am