South Korea’s prosecution service will beef up its “dark web investigation unit” as it steps up its long-running fight against crypto-powered drug crime.
Per Hankook Ilbo, the government has ordered investigative agencies to “prepare” for “a rapid increase in online drug crimes.”
Crypto-powered Drug Crime ‘Set to Rise in S Korea’
Prosecutors have unveiled an action plan based on a roadmap first rolled out in January this year.
The headquarters of the South Korean prosecution service. (Source: Yonhap TV News/Screenshot)
The prosecution service says that it will expand the remit of its existing Dark Web Special Investigation Team, a unit that comprises narcotics experts from the district prosecution offices in Seoul, Incheon, Busan, and Gwangju.
The new measures will see district prosecution offices in other parts of the country – including Suwon and Daegu – join the initiative.
But the team will go a step further, changing its focus from the “dark web” to wider “online” drug distribution channels.
The prosecution service added that it will use new AI-powered tools to “monitor online illegal drug transactions and advertisements.”
The agencies say they have earmarked “approximately 10,000 dark web sites and 3,000 Telegram channels” for investigation.
They also hope to launch a wider crackdown on “Telegram and virtual asset transactions.”
A spokesperson said a new collaborative task force operated in conjunction “with related organizations and private entities” would help them “analyze cryptoasset flows.”
Two South Korean prosecution service vehicles. (Source: Yonhap TV News/Screenshot)
Working With Overseas Crypto Exchanges
The unit also says it will “pursue collaboration” with overseas social media and internet platforms such as Telegram, Google, Apple, Meta, X, and TikTok.
It also wants to work with “overseas”-based crypto exchanges as it hunts drug dealers who sell their wares to crypto-paying buyers.
In the past, South Korean prosecution and police officers have complained they are powerless to shut down Telegram- and X-based drug distribution networks.
They stated that they do not have jurisdiction in the countries where these tech firms are headquartered.
Despite a sharp rise in convictions and police sting operations, it is still possible to find scores of what appear to be drug dealers advertising their services on both X and Telegram by searching for common Korean-language drug-related argot terms.
Crypto-powered Drug Criminals Getting Smarter?
In many cases, Telegram-based drug dealers are wise to the fact that law enforcement agents are monitoring their conversations.
A recent police legal case saw a 32-year-old man jailed for three years after selling drugs to about 300 college students.
The dealer, a court heard, shared tech tools with his clients and associates. These allowed them to “prepare for drug investigations by deleting cell phone data.”
The man operated an open Telegram channel with about 9,000 subscribers and used crypto as a payment tool.
But prosecutors think that some drugs kingpins employ lower-level assistants to smuggle drugs into the country and “dead-drop” them to crypto-paying customers.
The kingpins themselves, however, often attempt to evade the law by relocating overseas before launching their Telegram channels.
Younger Offenders
Prosecutors think that online and app-based drug crime involving crypto is set to grow.
They note that 60% of drug offences committed in South Korea last year were perpetrated by people aged under 40.
Younger people, they claim, are more familiar with “online transaction methods” and crypto. Older individuals, they say, prefer to make in-person cash deals.
Prosecutors also said they want to boost their response to the “misuse and illegal sale of medical drugs.”
The post South Korea Prosecution Revamps Anti Crypto-powered Drug Crime Unit appeared first on Cryptonews.
