11 members of a drug operation have been arrested and jailed after taking part in an operation through which they sold 40 kilograms of cocaine on the streets of the United Kingdom.
Crypto Crime in the United Kingdom is Getting Bigger
However, once they were placed behind bars, their crimes didn’t end. They got in touch with friends and family members and used them to launder their criminal funds through Coinbase, one of the biggest and most popular digital currency trading platforms in the world.
A judge overseeing the case noted that one of the operators was the mother of a two-year-old son, and wittingly went into the drug business fully aware and with her eyes “wide open.” He referred to the criminality of the case as “truly staggering” and said to her during her sentencing:
What was a money counter doing in your possession? You were unemployed and living with a man who had no job.
Several of the gang members have since been sentenced to several years in prison. Millie Davies of the Crown Prosecution Service commented on the case once it had reached its end by saying:
The thorough investigation showed that some of the defendants were involved in industrial scale drug dealing. [To] hide the substantial amounts of money from law enforcement, friends and family were recruited to move cryptocurrency from account to account. The strong evidence presented by the CPS resulted in guilty pleas and an organized crime gang being brought to justice.
Also within the borders of the United Kingdom was a separate criminal case involving cryptocurrency. Two fraudsters have been jailed after selling more than 400,000 pounds worth of crypto that allegedly didn’t exist. The scam occurred in London – the capital of the United Kingdom – between 2015 and 2017, meaning investors are a little late to the party.
Regarding the two participants, Detective Inspector Lee Parish, who oversaw the case, said:
It’s easy for investors, and sadly victims in this case, to be sucked into what they think is an area of potential and growth for their hard-earned cash due to how new the area of crypto investment is. [They] exploited this mindset and knowingly chose to simply take the victims’ money for their own financial gain, with no intention whatsoever of providing a service that even resembled a credible investment.
Don’t Invest Unless You’re Sure
He concluded by saying the result should send out a clear warning to all would-crypto scammers out there. He mentioned:
The sentencing should serve as a reminder to not invest in emerging currencies that have the potential to be unstable in an erratic financial market. Should you wish to invest money, please do your research and go with a company which is FCA registered and is recognized worldwide. If in doubt, contact an accredited financial advisor.
