According to a senior NCB officer, the agency, after weeks of intelligence gathering, intercepted three postal parcels in Cochin on June 28, containing 280 LSD blots. Acting swiftly, they raided the suspect’s residence on June 29, uncovering a further 847 LSD blots, Ketamine and a trove of digital evidence. 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.
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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. Stick to cryptocurrency, avoid downloading anything, and don’t share any personal info.
Unmasking The Dark Web Economy: Key Hubs And Cybersecurity Implications
Cybercriminals go on dark web marketplaces to buy and sell illicit goods and services. They engage in financial crime and sell other people’s stolen personal information, since they’re under the veil of anonymity. Still, even with these crackdowns and better defenses, dark web markets just keep coming back. As long as people want to buy and sell illegal stuff online, be it stolen data, narcotics, drugs, or malware, these markets will keep resurfacing, no matter how many times authorities take them down. To deal with the growing issue of drug trafficking through digital means, the Centre has established a Special Task Force on Darknet and cryptocurrency.
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- It has a search option to let you find local and international products and services on the dark web.
- It exposes the vulnerabilities in existing postal monitoring, the challenge of policing privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, and the increasing technical sophistication of domestic drug traffickers.
- Like most of the markets, STYX supports Bitcoin (BTC), Monero (XMR), and other crypto tokens to keep everyone’s identity hidden on this marketplace.
- The current bust comes nearly two years after NCB dismantled the notorious ‘Zambada’ darknet cartel, the then largest in the country, which had ties to the same international LSD network.
- This cartel comprises young educated men in the age bracket of years…various web series on OTT platforms inspired their mode of operations.
People visit this market to buy stolen credit cards, personal data, remote desktop account credentials, and logs gathered from information-stealing malware. Torzon Market showed up on the dark web in September 2022, and it’s been growing steadily ever since. These days, it lists over 11,600 illegal items, including hard drugs, hacking tools, and all kinds of cybercrime services.
Probe so far has revealed that the accused had sold the LSD blots to buyers in Bengaluru, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, Delhi, as well as regions in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For society at large, the case is a reminder of the unpredictable intersections between technology and criminality, and the need for ongoing vigilance—at the institutional and individual levels alike. Perhaps most shocking to the community was the revelation that Edison Babu had maintained an utterly normal family life. Neighbors described him as “bookish” and “hardworking,” and none had any inkling of his secret criminal career. This underscores a critical shift in the profile of India’s new-generation cyber criminals—educated, technically skilled individuals who blend seamlessly into mainstream society.
Kerala Police’s Cyber Battle Plan
The cartels on darknet are rated on scale of 1 star to 5 star based on their potency of drug sold and their customer service. Launched in September 2022, Torzon Market operates on the Tor network and features over 11,600 illegal products, including drugs and hacking tools. It enhances buyer transparency by importing vendor feedback with PGP proof. Torzon offers a premium account option for additional benefits and is valued at approximately $15 million, accepting payments in Bitcoin (BTC) and Monero (XMR). The story of dark web marketplaces kicks off with Silk Road, launched in 2011. It was the first big site where people could anonymously buy drugs using Bitcoin, and it gained a lot of attention, until it was shut down by the FBI in 2013.
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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.
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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. As part of the two earlier busts, it has registered a total of six cases in Delhi under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) leading to the arrest of 22 Indians till now.
On the surface, Edison Babu seemed like any other well-educated professional from Kerala—a mechanical engineer, a family man, and a mild-mannered resident of Muvattupuzha, Ernakulam district. To his neighbors and acquaintances, he was soft-spoken and reserved, occasionally spotted taking his toddler to daycare. Yet, behind this unassuming facade lay a dark and complex secret that would eventually draw the attention of India’s premier narcotics agency and shake the foundations of India’s fight against cyber-enabled drug trafficking. He reportedly used TAILS OS (a security-focused operating system that leaves no digital footprint), encrypted storage devices, cryptocurrency wallets, and multiple email aliases to cover his tracks. Authorities estimate that the syndicate carried out over 700 transactions, with street values running into ₹5 to ₹10 crore. The operation came to light after NCB intercepted three suspicious packages in Kochi on June 28.
NCB Makes India’s ‘Largest-Ever’ LSD Seizure, Recovers 15,000 Blots Worth Rs 10 Crore
In order to identify those linked to the darknet-based drug trafficking cartels, special teams were formed by the NCB’s Delhi zonal unit. An operation was launched on April 19, which led to the detection of the second largest cartel with the seizure of about 15,000 LSD blots, 44 gm of MDMA and seizure/freezing of drug money amounting to ₹24.65 lakh. Despite Telegram’s anonymity, the dark web is still a hot spot for illegal trading of malware, illicit goods, and stolen data (such as stolen credit card information). Even with the increase in law enforcement pressure, the dark web market still achieved a revenue of $2 billion in 2024. Therefore, as long as this dark part of the internet exists, these marketplaces will flourish and emerge. The market facilitates trades in stolen credit card data, hacked bank accounts, and services to facilitate the laundering of cryptocurrency.
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Many people (mostly criminals) use these sites to perform illegal transactions such as selling banned goods and services. 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.
A 2020 study found that almost 57% of sites on the Tor network hosted some form of illegal content. Whether you want some pharmaceutical products (drugs) or digital items, you will probably find the products here, and that too at affordable prices. Vice City listens to the problems faced by its customers and vendors and solves them so that they can keep using the platform with ease. To access the marketplace, dark web users must register first and pass the CAPTCHA test to prove they are human. In fact, everything is in English, and the site picks up users everywhere in the world.
