Indian national admits to selling drugs on dark web in USA

An Indian national, hailing from Haldwani in Uttarakhand, has pleaded guilty in an Ohio court in USA to charges related to operating an extensive dark web drug trafficking network. 

The accused identified as 40-year-old Banmeet Singh, who ran a global drug distribution network, was extradited to the United States from the United Kingdom last year.

Banmeet Singh, who sold controlled substances on platforms like Silk Road, Alpha Bay and Hansa, has agreed to forfeit a staggering $150 million in cryptocurrency.

It is believed to be the “largest single cryptocurrency financial seizure" in the history of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Reports have stated that Banmeet Singh was extradited from the United Kingdom in March 2023 and pleaded guilty to money laundering and another charge on Friday at a federal courthouse in Columbus, Ohio.

Court documents said that Singh established vendor marketing sites on various dark web marketplaces, offering a range of substances including fentanyl, LSD, ecstasy, Xanax, Ketamine, and Tramadol.

Clients made purchases using cryptocurrency, and Singh looked after the distribution by personally shipping or arranging the shipment of controlled substances from Europe to the United States through various shipping services. 

Singh's illegal activities came to an end in April 2019 when he was arrested in London. After extradition efforts, he was brought to the United States in 2023 to face charges.

After he was brought to the US, Singh pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possession and distribution of controlled substances and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The agreed-upon sentence is eight years in prison, with the sentencing date yet to be determined by a federal district court judge.