Banmeet Singh, a 40-year-old British resident, has admitted to using the dark web to distribute illegal drugs globally, resulting in what officials believe is the largest cryptocurrency seizure in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) history.
Singh, extradited from the UK in March 2023, pleaded guilty to money laundering and another charge in a federal courthouse in Columbus, Ohio.
The seized cryptocurrency, primarily in bitcoin, is valued at around $150 million but fluctuates with the market.
Singh is accused of operating on dark-web platforms, such as Silk Road, Alpha Bay, Hansa, and Dream Market, selling drugs like heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, LSD, MDMA, Xanax, and Tramadol between 2012 and 2017.
Payments were made using bitcoin, MoneyGram, PayPal, or cash, and Singh organized drug shipments to the U.S. via mail carriers or package delivery services.
DEA’s Special Agent in Charge called it the “largest single cryptocurrency financial seizure in DEA history.” Singh, one of eight individuals convicted, is expected to be sentenced to eight years in prison, pending court approval.
The guilty plea includes forfeiture of over 8,100 bitcoin, valued at more than $340 million.
