A virtual phone system enables you to turn your phone into a powerful tool for both personal and bus… Then, you can set up 2FA (two-factor authentication) for that extra touch of security in case someone somehow figures out your password. If you ever have to connect to public Wi-Fi, make sure to use a VPN to keep your browsing safe and private.
Drug Trafficking In The Country
NCB’s deputy DG Singh said the latest seizure of about 15,000 LSD blots is 2,500 times of the commercial quantity. The deputy DG further said that till now, the highest seizure of LSD was 5,000 blots by the Karnataka Police during the entire span of 2021 and about a similar amount of blots by the Kolkata NCB in 2022 in a single operation. A total of 14,961 blots were seized as part of the about two-week long operation and the blots are of “gammagoblin and holy spirit of asura” brand, Singh said. “Due to intensified vigilance and improved coordination, drug seizures have exponentially increased in India in the last few years,” the home minister said on Twitter. The NCB said it is working to unearth the third such known LSD cartel operating in the country.
What Was Seized:
“One is a student who is from Goa but enrolled at a private university in Noida, another is a Delhi boy who was trying to send some of these blots to Kashmir and a girl who has been arrested from the NCR,” the zonal director said. He said the operation was undertaken by a special team of the Delhi zonal unit of the agency after they “patrolled” the darknet for many hours. It is trafficked by painting it on blots, half the size of a stamp paper, and is consumed by licking or swallowing. It is the second LSD trafficking cartel busted by the agency in the last about three months, officials said. However, you can trace its roots to the development of technologies like the Tor network or Freenet. In March 2000, an Irish grad student named Ian Clarke created the software application, Freenet.
India’s NCB & Binance Join Forces To Take Down The Country’s Biggest Darknet Drug Network
“The NCB is looking at freezing at least ₹50 crore worth of assets,” the sources said. N 2025, dark web websites frequently change domains and are often short-lived. Accessing them may require .onion links and the Tor browser, but caution is advised due to legality and cybersecurity risks. They use pseudonymous wallets, privacy coins (like Monero), mixers, chain-hopping, and non-KYC platforms to obscure transaction trails. Cybersecurity experts should pay close attention to these trends, as they often indicate emerging threats and profit-generating tactics among the cybercriminal forums. Never log in with your real name or reuse passwords from other accounts.
India Has Seen 92 Drug Trafficking Cases In Four Years Involving Dark Net And Crypto
- Just as there are new entrants, the dark web has its veteran markets too, and Brian’s Club is one such market.
- While the surface web includes everyday websites and the deep web comprises password-protected platforms like banking portals, the dark web is intentionally kept anonymous.
- You can even find things such as BIN checkers and PayPal cookie converters.
- Security researchers have been monitoring forums within the cybercriminal underworld to investigate the leading markets operating in 2024.
- “Zambada was the only cartel in the country with 5-star rating…in India operating from Delhi National Capital Region.
- Telegram channels supplement traditional onion sites, blurring lines between the dark web sites and more mainstream communication tools.
Others sell pirated eBooks, academic materials, and entire premium courses ripped straight from paid platforms. Unfortunately, the dark web hosts not only explicit but also deeply illegal and disturbing content. The markets often share materials related to child exploitation, pornography, and non-consensual recordings, all of which are serious crimes that inflict lasting harm on real-life victims.
Anything from planting malware and stealing sensitive files to hijacking email accounts or breaking into social media profiles. One notable fact is that the site has changed its domain twice since its formation. Today, Exodus Marketplace works from 3 different domains, two of which are its mirrors.
How To Protect Your Identity While Browsing The Dark Web
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- The man running the operations in India was in close contact with a darknet operator named Dr. Seuss aka DS, TS (Tribe Seuss) and Gamma Goblin, who is allegedly the largest source of LSD across the globe.
- The first time the name of this cartel was reported in the country was in September 2022 when the Hyderabad Police arrested eight people for drug trafficking using the darknet.
- These hackers don’t hide in the shadows as much as you might think.
The NCB said the cartel’s name is derived from Ismael-Marlo Zambada Garcia, a Mexican drug lord, and he was the last remaining fugitive on the list of Mexico’s 37 most wanted drug criminals. The ‘Zambada’ cartel, according to the agency, was the “only” cartel in the country with a so-called ‘5-star rating’. If you want more peace of mind, NordVPN has a dark web monitoring tool you can consider using. This handy feature monitors the dark web for signs that your login details or other personal info have been leaked.
AI Launches: Fashion, EdTech, Speech Tech, Monitors, Fintech, Data, Trading, Cloud, AI Defense & Model
This arrest marks an eye-opening exposition of both the innovative methods employed by criminals to evade detection and the evolving strategies by police forces worldwide to counteract these techniques. This arrest not only exposes the intricate methods utilized by cybercriminals but also highlights the evolving capabilities of global police forces to adapt and respond to these digital-age challenges. BidenCash is another latest marketplace that started in 2022, and is now home to sensitive financial data transactions. This is where cybercriminals go to buy and sell things like stolen credit card numbers, personally identifiable information (PII), and even SSH login details. One thing that distinguishes BidenCash on the dark web, however, is how it markets itself.
Custodial wallets on cryptocurrency platforms such as Binance have also been traced for further action. Its origins can be traced back to the 1990s, through research funded by the United States Department of Defense. The aim was to develop an encrypted communication network for intelligence operatives. This initiative evolved into the Tor network, now used globally—for both legitimate and illegal activities. The estimated street value of the seized drugs is about Rs 35.12 lakh with LSD blots being priced in a range of Rs 2,500-Rs 4,000 each, as per the statement.
While this market started in Canada in 2021, WeTheNorth now sells to both Canadian and international users. It’s a market for fake documents, hacking software, and financial fraud services. WeTheNorth has a strong community vibe, with an active forum where users interact and share updates. Of course, not all the popular and widely-used dark web sites and things like marketplaces on the dark net are illegal. Some use them due to privacy concerns, such as journalists talking to informants or whistleblowers, while others may simply want to protect their confidential information from observation or tracking. Nevertheless, most people on the internet do not need to communicate or venture into the dark web.
A Wake-up Call For India’s Cyber Security Forces
Privacy coins “operate on an immutable ledger,” meaning “evidence of criminal transactions will exist forever,” he said. The NCB, the officials said, is trying to freeze the crypto funds too. ‘Zambada’ intended to open an Indian ‘outlet’ of Dr Seuss with a minimum stock of one lakh LSD blots. It has ‘outlets’ in the UK, USA, South Africa, Canada, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Turkey, according to DDG Singh. “The cartel was being operated by young educated men in the age bracket of years,” he said. Over the recent years, we have witnessed a steady increase in cyber incidents.
Implications: A Wake-Up Call For Indian Law Enforcement
Under the identity “Ketamelon,” he received orders on numerous darknet markets, communicated encryptedly, and shipped drugs via India’s postal and courier networks. The arrest of Edison Babu is a testament to the effectiveness of the NCB’s efforts in dismantling transnational drug trafficking networks. It highlights the necessity for international cooperation and the use of advanced tools to track and apprehend criminals operating on the dark web.
