Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Tether are becoming real hits in the narcotics business. Mexican drug lords prefer popular crypto tokens to fiat money to make payments in fentanyl trade, U.S. Treasury warns.
The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an alert concerning the growing use of cryptocurrencies by Mexican cartels.
Infamous drug traffickers are buying fentanyl ingredients with popular digital assets.
The cartels are sourcing materials from Chinese suppliers. They are actively using Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, and Tether for those purchases. Which shouldn't come as a surprise, as these tokens are the most popular in the crypto world.
Payments often land in hosted wallets at crypto firms. Some transactions involve secondary money transmitters.
This trend isn't new to U.S. authorities. Recent sanctions and criminal cases have highlighted the issue. In October, the Justice Department charged eight China-linked companies.
These firms faced allegations of illegal drug activities. The charges included production, distribution, and sales of precursor chemicals.
Fentanyl overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45. The drug's potency is alarming. It's 100 times stronger than morphine.
China is a major source of fentanyl precursors. Later these chemicals travel through multiple countries. Their final destination in most cases is the United States.