• India has seen as many as 92 cases involving dark net and cryptocurrencies in drug trafficking in the past four years, the Home Ministry said.
• A special task force has been constituted to monitor such suspicious transactions.

India has seen as many as 92 cases since 2020 till April 2024 involving dark net and cryptocurrencies to purchase drugs, the nation's junior Home Minister Nityanand Rai said to parliament on Wednesday.

Rai's response was to questions about drug trafficking from Jose K. Mani, a minister of parliament (MP) from the opposition. One of the questions posed asked "whether (the) Government has noticed increasing use of technology and other online methods while conducting drug trafficking in the country?"

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the nodal agency on drug law enforcement matters, booked three of such dark net and crypto-related cases in 2020, 49 in 2021, eight in 2022, 21 in 2023 and 11 until April 2024.

The data did not provide a distinction between how many of the 92 cases were solely dark net related and how many were solely crypto related in terms of methods of transactions.

In the same duration, 1025 cases involving parcels or couriers were reported.

Rai also said along with other prevention methods, a special task force has been constituted to monitor such suspicious transactions related to drugs.

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