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Indian sentenced for five years for selling controlled substance
Over the course of the conspiracy, Banmeet Singh moved hundreds of kilograms of controlled substances throughout the US and established a multimillion-dollar drug enterprise: DoJ
Dark Web / Kaur Kristjan, Unsplash
An Indian national Banmeet Singh has been sentenced to five years in prison for selling controlled substances on dark web marketplaces and ordered to forfeit approximately USD150 million, the Department of Justice said April 19.
Singh, 40, of Haldwani, was arrested in April 2019 in London at the request of the US and was subsequently extradited in March 2023. In January he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Banmeet created vendor marketing sites on dark web marketplaces, such as Silk Road, Alpha Bay, Hansa, and others, to sell controlled substances, including fentanyl, LSD, ecstasy, Xanax, ketamine, and tramadol, according to court documents.
Customers paid with cryptocurrency for drugs ordered from Singh using the vendor sites. Singh then personally shipped or arranged the shipment of the drugs from Europe to the United States through U.S. mail or other shipping services, federal prosecutors said.
Between 2012 and July 2017, Singh controlled at least eight distribution cells within the US, including cells located in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, North Dakota, and Washington, among other locations.
Individuals in these distribution cells received drug shipments and then re-packaged and re-shipped the drugs to locations in all 50 states, Canada, England, Ireland, Jamaica, Scotland, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Department of Justice said.
Over the course of the conspiracy, the Singh drug organization moved hundreds of kilograms of controlled substances throughout the United States and established a multimillion-dollar drug enterprise that laundered millions of dollars of drug proceeds into cryptocurrency accounts, which ultimately became worth approximately USD150 million, said the official release.
“In the Singh organization’s drug orders, the members frequently used the vendor name ‘Liston’ and signed off with the signature phrase, ‘I’m still dancing’,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio on January 26 when he pleaded guilty. “Today, with Banmeet Singh’s plea of guilty, the dance is over.”
“Banmeet Singh operated a global dark web enterprise to send fentanyl and other deadly and dangerous drugs to communities across America — in all 50 states — as well as Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean,” said Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “DEA is proud to have worked with its law enforcement partners in the United States and the United Kingdom to dismantle this enterprise, protect the American people, and bring Singh to justice.”
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