Mumbai Man Who Gave Bitcoins For Drugs On Dark Web Arrested: Cops

A Mumbai resident who provided Bitcoins to drug peddlers has been arrested, police said.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested a Mumbai resident who provided Bitcoins to drug peddlers for buying narcotic drugs on dark web, an official said on Wednesday. Makarand P Adivirkar, known as ''cryptoking'' in some circles, was arrested for allegedly providing Bitcoins for the purchase of LSD, a psychotropic substance, to a peddler in November 2020, he said. Bitcoins and other forms of cryptocurrency are often used on dark web -- websites which are not indexed and therefore can not be accessed through regular search engines -- for illicit transactions. The Narcotics Control Bureau had seized 20 LSD blots from a drug peddler in Kharodi village in Marve Road area of suburban Malad on November 20 last year. The drug peddler had bought them from Europe by using Bitcoins, probe revealed.