The estimated street value of the seized drugs is approximately ₹35.12 lakh, with LSD blots priced at ₹2,500- ₹4,000 each,” the officer added. LSD is odourless, colourless and tasteless and can be painted onto small squares of paper that people lick or swallow and it alters the sense of space, distance and time. LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is a hallucinogenic drug which chemically acts to change the way people sense the world around them. The estimated street value of the seized drugs is about ₹35.12 lakh with LSD blots being priced in a range of ₹2,500-₹ 4,000 each, as per the statement. The NCB suspects that over the last 14 months, it delivered 600 shipments.
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Keep in mind that visiting the dark web isn’t illegal, but engaging in criminal activity there is. It scans darknet marketplaces and hacker forums to alert you instantly if anything shows up. This way, you can catch any leaks and stop them before they cause bigger problems. Sometimes, you might be hacked by using weak passwords or even just connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi on public networks.
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- He used to source large quantities of synthetic drugs through the darknet and sell them to his customers.
- On the financial side, the network funneled funds through privacy-focused digital assets like Monero, while also using wallet-hopping and obfuscation techniques.
- The NCB, the officials said, is trying to freeze the crypto funds too.
- Most people start by using the Tor Browser, which hides your IP address.
- Saheed Aremu passionately advocates for digital privacy and cybersecurity in the modern digital age.
- These sites often look basic or outdated, and their URLs are lengthy strings of random letters and numbers.
Stopping their growth takes serious effort from US agencies like the FBI, often working hand-in-hand with international law enforcement. The buyers, or “consumers,” are cybercriminals who use these tools to launch illegal activities. The victims, who are common users, businesses, and even banks, who end up paying the price.
Earlier in 2023, NCB busted the then biggest darknet based LSD cartel named “Zambada”, seizing 29,013 blots of LSD, 472 grams of MDMA & Rs.51.38 Lakh cash and arrested 14 persons out of which main kingpins are under judicial custody. Seventeen people were arrested, including kingpins, traffickers, white-collar criminals, two Afghan heroin processing experts and members of the alleged Jaggu Bhagwan Puria gang. The seizure in the case included about 34.5 kg of heroin, 5.5 kg morphine, 0.6 kg opium, 23.6 kg narcotics powder, acetic anhydride, bullets and magazines. Some dark web marketplaces even host content that’s not just illegal but extremely harmful, so it’s really important to understand the risks before diving in. Others are looking for stolen data, hacking services, or even banned books and political content. For sellers, it’s often about making money while staying off the radar.
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The site gives out free samples of the stolen data every now and then to gain more customers. With its fast rise to fame and focus on money fraud, it’s no surprise that cybersecurity experts are keeping a very close eye on this one. 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.
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The marketplace has a simple interface, lets users filter logs easily, and accepts Bitcoin, Monero, and Litecoin for payments. Now that you understand what the dark web is all about, you might wonder why other people do things on it. Darknet marketplaces like to exist on the dark web because it offers a service that the regular internet, or more accurately, the “surface web,” does not. These marketplaces are full of risks (security, legal, ethical issues – all of them). But if you still decide to access these websites, for education or research purposes, make sure you stay cautious.
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This expanded reach, combined with anonymity, only makes it easier for them to grow their operations without getting caught immediately. While hiring a hacker might sound like something out of a movie, it’s a very real threat. Businesses may use these services to sabotage their competitors, while individuals may seek revenge or simply want access to private information about someone. According to the NCB, the drugs were allegedly sourced from ‘Gunga Din’, a UK-based supplier linked to Dr Seuss aka DS or Tribe Seuss, the world’s largest LSD distributor. NCB sources revealed that the accused operated under the alias ‘Ketamelon’, identified as India’s only Level 4 vendor on the darknet — a status awarded based on the quality of drugs sold and customer satisfaction. Investigators also found evidence of custodial wallets on global platforms like Binance, which are now under scrutiny.
‘Ketamelon’ had established a widespread network, shipping LSD to major cities, including Bangalore, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, Delhi, and regions in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The estimated street value of the seized drugs is approximately Rs 35.12 lakh, with LSD blots priced at Rs 2,500-4,000 each. The operation, codenamed ‘MELON’, was led by the NCB Cochin Zonal Unit and has resulted in the seizure of large quantities of LSD and Ketamine, as well as digital assets worth Rs 70 lakh.
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The NCB’s Operation MELON successfully dismantled India’s most prolific darknet drug syndicate, arresting “Ketamelon,” a Level 4 darknet vendor, and seizing LSD, ketamine, and cryptocurrency worth over ₹1 crore. The bust highlights the growing sophistication of tech-enabled drug networks and the need for advanced cyber surveillance and inter-agency coordination. LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide is a synthetic chemical based-drug and is categorised as a hallucinogen. Dark web markets have exploded in scale and reach in 2025, becoming the most dangerous hubs for trading drugs, stolen data, and hacking tools.
- The marketplace has a simple interface, lets users filter logs easily, and accepts Bitcoin, Monero, and Litecoin for payments.
- The seized contraband drugs have an estimated street value of approximately Rs 35.12 lakhs, officials added.
- It underscores the double-edged nature of privacy in the digital age – a shield for personal freedoms but also a potential cloak for wrongdoing.
- You can use dark web monitoring tools, such as NordVPN’s Dark Web Monitor, to check if your data has been leaked.
- You can even find things such as BIN checkers and PayPal cookie converters.
The dark web, unlike the surface web and deep web, is a concealed part of the internet requiring specific tools such as Tor (The Onion Router) to access. 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. A Canadian market established in 2021, WTN offers over 9,000 products, including narcotics, fake goods, and digital services. It operates in both French and English and has built a reputation for ease-of-use. The LSD blots (a small piece of absorbent paper impregnated with lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD) seized by NCB sleuths bore the imprint Gunga Din and Rudyard Kipling.
These sites cater to cybercriminals seeking valuable data, such as credit card numbers, login credentials, and personal information. “Among the material seized were multiple cryptocurrency wallets, hard disks with incriminating documents and a hardware wallet containing USDT cryptocurrency valued at Rs 70 lakh,” the official said. In a significant crackdown against darknet-enabled narcotics trade, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has busted India’s top-ranked darknet drug vendor operating under the alias “Ketamelon”. “Ketamelon” had established a widespread network, shipping LSD to major cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, Delhi, and regions in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
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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. Stick to cryptocurrency, avoid downloading anything, and don’t share any personal info.
He utilized the government postal system and the dark web to facilitate his illicit activities, which involved the trafficking of drugs and the use of Monero cryptocurrency to launder over ₹68 lakh (approximately $82,000). The darknet—the encrypted, unindexed part of the internet accessible only through specialized software like Tor—is a notorious hub for illegal activities. It’s where international drug deals, arms sales, and illicit services are routinely brokered away from the prying eyes of law enforcement.
