India has established a special unit for tracking drug money on the dark web. On September 6, 2026, the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, announced that the government had created a Darknet-Crypto Cell within its top-level anti-narcotics task force. The unit’s responsibility is to monitor the crypto payments, encrypted chats and dead-drop deliveries which modern drug networks rely upon.
Shah made the announcement at a press conference held in Panaji, Goa, together with the Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, having first chaired a session to discuss matters relating to the state. He presented it as part of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ plan to make India drug-free by 2029.
The cell represents the most recent development in a process which has been underway for several years. The following explains what was announced, how India has reached this point, and the consequences for dark web drug markets and ordinary crypto users.
What Amit Shah Announced
As reported by the news agency ANI, Shah said the government has begun investigations using technology to target activity on the darknet, encrypted communications, crypto payments, and dead-drop delivery methods, and has “established a dedicated Darknet-Crypto Cell within the Task Force.”
He placed the cell inside a wider investigation strategy that works in two directions:
- From bottom to top: if investigators seize even a small quantity of drugs, they will trace the entire network back to its source within the country.
- From top to bottom: when a large consignment is seized at the border, the investigators track its intended route all the way to the individual buyers.
Shah stated that financial inquiries and the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PIT-NDPS), a piece of legislation designed to deal with traffickers by means of preventive detention, are now being carried out in parallel with physical seizures. He also mentioned that drug money is being used to finance terrorism and that the government has been working to cut off the financial links of drug networks since 2019.
What is a dead drop?
A dead drop is a method of delivery in which the seller conceals the drugs at a place previously agreed upon, for example at a park, on a building ledge or at a roadside marker, and then gives the buyer the location. The buyer and seller never meet. Combined with darknet ordering and crypto payments, it eliminates almost all the face-to-face contact police have normally relied on.
The Road to the Darknet-Crypto Cell
The statement announced in September wasn’t entirely unexpected. India has been gradually increasing its capacity for investigating crypto and darknet activities.
In October 2022, Amit Shah began raising the use of the dark web and cryptocurrency as investigative challenges in narcotics cases at national security forums.
In September 2023, it was reported that the Ministry of Home Affairs was working on a Cryptocurrency Intelligence and Analysis Tool (CIAT). The project was being carried out by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and was intended to monitor crypto wallet addresses on the darknet, keep a record of transaction details including the dates and the exchanges used, and send out alerts when unusual activity was detected.
At the 2nd National Conference of Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) Heads of States and Union Territories, which took place in New Delhi on September 16, 2025, Shah requested that the states should adopt darknet analysis, cryptocurrency tracking, analysis of communication behaviors and the use of machine-learning models in order to combat drug cartels.
On February 10, 2026, in a written response to the Lok Sabha, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, stated that the government had established a task force on the darknet and cryptocurrency within the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC). The task force’s mandate includes:
- monitoring platforms that support narco-trafficking
- sharing drug-smuggling inputs among agencies and MAC members
- intercepting drug networks
- continuously capturing trends, methods and network nodes, with regular database updates
- reviewing the related rules and laws
It was pointed out in the same reply that a Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) had been established at both the central and state levels to supervise the investigations into major drug seizures.
In June and August 2026, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) held special training sessions for state ANTF officers at the Rashtriya Raksha University, the topics being darknet investigations, tracing of cryptocurrency and the handling of electronic evidence.
On August 4, 2026, Rai stated to the Lok Sabha that the Vision Document on Narcotics Control (2026–2029) includes the establishment of special Darknet and Cryptocurrency Cells in all the state Anti-Narcotics Task Forces, these cells to be supported by AI-powered analytics and improved coordination between agencies. He also mentioned that the NCB has trained its officers in darknet monitoring and cryptocurrency investigation in cooperation with the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the Rashtriya Raksha University.
On September 6, 2026, Shah announced the Darknet-Crypto Cell.
Why Drug Networks Moved to the Darknet and Crypto
Officials involved in the NCB’s training session in August 2026 stated that drug gangs are becoming more and more likely to use darknet marketplaces, protected messaging apps and cryptocurrencies when buying, selling, and transporting narcotics.
The change entails more than just drugs. According to its Smuggling in India Report 2024-25, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), India’s anti-smuggling agency, says certain smuggling organizations have shifted from traditional hawala channels to cryptocurrencies and stablecoins because settlements can be made more quickly and anti-money-laundering controls are weaker across jurisdictions. In one case involving the smuggling of 108 kilograms of gold, investigators found that more than $12.7 million had been transferred via hawala and USDT to a syndicate in China.
That is precisely the reason why a crypto-specialist unit is important. Since most major blockchains, such as Bitcoin’s, record all transactions on a public ledger, investigators are able to track the money across wallets and exchanges once they have linked a single wallet to a suspect.
Read more: AudiA6 Takedown: Inside the $389 Million Ransomware Laundering Bust
Cases That Show the Shift
What darknet drug trafficking actually looks like can be seen in recent cases in India, and crypto tracing is already being used to combat it.
Team Kalki
In 2026, the NCB brought down a pan-India darknet drug ring known as “Team Kalki”. This network is said to have used the encrypted messaging service Session, the darknet forum Dread and dead-drop deliveries. On July 22, 2026, Binance stated that its investigations team, in cooperation with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), had provided blockchain analytics and wallet tracking which assisted the authorities in identifying and freezing the cryptocurrency associated with the network.
Operation MELON
In the 2025 operation known as MELON, the NCB dismantled a Level-4 darknet vendor who was using the name “Ketamelon” and confiscated cryptocurrency amounting to approximately $74,000 (₹70 lakh) together with some LSD blots and ketamine.
The $24 million Gujarat case
The Cyber Centre of Excellence of the Gujarat CID is looking into alleged illegal crypto transactions amounting to about $24 million (₹226.54 crore) which are associated with an accused based in Ahmedabad. It is believed that the accused’s wallet was connected to a narcotics marketplace on the dark web. The investigators stated that the group used the privacy coin Monero together with the stablecoin USDT. Binance has publicly confirmed that it helped in tracing the funds.
What the Cell Means for Everyday Crypto Users
The Darknet-Crypto Cell is an investigative unit and not a market regulator. The Home Ministry has not declared a new crypto law, imposed a ban on private cryptocurrency, or made any changes to crypto taxes.
Buying, selling and holding crypto remains legal in India, and the existing rules stay in place:
- The income obtained from the transfer of virtual digital assets is subject to a flat tax rate of 30% as specified in Section 115BBH of the Income Tax Act.
- A 1% TDS (tax deducted at source) applies to qualifying transfers under Section 194S.
- Crypto-related losses cannot be used to offset other income.
- Crypto exchanges which serve users in India must register with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) and submit suspicious transaction reports in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The latest annual report from FIU-IND states that 49 virtual digital asset service providers are listed as reporting entities: 45 of these are located in India and four are offshore exchanges which serve Indian users. The new cell will not take the place of FIU-IND or the Income Tax Department; it operates on the criminal side within the Home Ministry’s anti-narcotics setup.
Read more: ValueFirst Appeared in a Dark Web Alert. Here’s Why That’s Worth Paying Attention To.
What Comes Next
The Vision Document on Narcotics Control (2026–2029) presents a three-year plan together with specific targets over time. In addition to darknet and crypto cells in each state ANTF, it provides for stronger financial investigations, an enlarged Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) system, more extensive international cooperation, the 24-hour a day, 7 days a week MANAS national narcotics helpline (1933), and a Mission Drug Free Campus initiative for educational institutions.
For darknet vendors selling into India, the direction is clear. A dedicated national unit has now named crypto payments, encrypted apps and dead drops as its targets, backed by trained officers in the states and blockchain analytics assistance from the private sector.
Read more: Dark Web Statistics 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is India’s Darknet-Crypto Cell? It is a dedicated investigative unit within India’s top-level anti-narcotics task force. The unit keeps track of cryptocurrency payments, encrypted communications and dead-drop deliveries which are connected with drug trafficking. The Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, announced the unit on September 6, 2026.
Who announced the Darknet-Crypto Cell? The announcement of the Darknet-Crypto Cell was made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a press conference held in Panaji, Goa, on September 6, 2026.
Has cryptocurrency been banned in India as a result of this cell? No. The government announced no ban and no new crypto law. It is still legal to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrency, and the current tax rules and the FIU-IND rules remain in force.
What is the darknet and cryptocurrency task force under MAC? In February 2026, the government told the Lok Sabha that it had established a task force on the darknet and cryptocurrency under the Multi-Agency Centre with a view to keeping a watch on those platforms which are facilitating narco-trafficking, sharing intelligence between the various agencies and monitoring trafficking trends.
Will each of India’s states have a darknet and crypto cell? The Vision Document on Narcotics Control (2026–2029) provides for the establishment of Darknet and Cryptocurrency Cells in all the State Anti-Narcotics Task Forces.
