Silk Road drug dealer pleads guilty, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration confiscates nearly ten thousand bitcoins in record seizure

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DEA Seizes Record Amount of Cryptocurrency

According to the announcement by the Department of Justice, 40-year-old drug dealer Banmeet Singh was extradited from the UK to the US last year. He is accused of selling heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, and other drugs to users in various states in the US through dark web markets such as Silk Road, Alpha Bay, Hansa, and Dream Market between 2012 and 2017.

Banmeet Singh controlled at least 8 distribution centers and pleaded guilty in a federal court in Ohio on the 26th of this month to charges of intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to commit money laundering, etc. Users paid using Bitcoin, MoneyGram, PayPal, or cash.

The Southern District of Ohio Federal Prosecutor's Office stated that this is the largest cryptocurrency seizure case in the history of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Banmeet Singh had at least 8,100 bitcoins confiscated, valued at approximately $150 million at the time of seizure, which had risen to $340 million by the 26th.

US Government Holds Over 200,000 Bitcoins

In December last year, a US court also confirmed the seizure of 69,370 bitcoins, along with other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin Gold (BTG), Bitcoin SV (BSV), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

With this, the US Treasury holds approximately 215,000 bitcoins, surpassing China's seizure of around 190,000 bitcoins during the PlusToken case.

However, the 215,000 bitcoins do not include the 8,100 bitcoins seized by the DEA, as listed in the detailed list.

Bitcoin Seized by US Court Enters Treasury: Nearly 70,000 BTC Confiscated in Silk Road Case