South Australian Police Seizes $1.5M in Crypto From Man Charged With Drug Trafficking

cryptonews.com:

South Australian police have apprehended a 25-year-old man from Adelaide Hills on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, with approximately $1.5 million worth of crypto seized during the operation.

The accused individual operated multiple vendor profiles on the dark web, selling various drugs, according to a Thursday report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

One of the drugs seized during the investigation is the synthetic opioid "nitazene," a substance of great concern due to its high toxicity. 

Detective Superintendent Adam Rice highlighted the dangers associated with nitazene, comparing it to fentanyl but highlighting that it has never been approved for human consumption. 

"They are highly toxic drugs, similar to fentanyl, but which have never been approved for human consumption and they have a huge risk of overdose," he said.

The police believe that the approximately 5 kilograms of nitazene found represent the largest quantity seized in Australia to date.

In July, SA Health issued warnings about protonitazene following two confirmed overdoses and two suspected cases, including one fatality where the drug was believed to have played a role. 

However, Superintendent Rice clarified that there is currently no evidence linking the alleged dark web vendor to the reported death.

The investigation into the dark web vendor's activities began earlier this year, aiming to target the illicit drug trade online. 

The police successfully traced the cryptocurrency used in the illegal transactions, leading to the identification of a real-life individual in South Australia. 

In September, law enforcement conducted search and seizure operations at a residential address and two storage units in the Adelaide Hills, resulting in