Three Men Jailed for Using Dark Web and Crypto to Sell Drugs Across UK

Three men have been jailed for running a nationwide Class A drug operation using the dark web and cryptocurrency to conceal their identities and ￰0￱ Takeaways: Three men were jailed for running a UK-wide drug network that used the dark web and cryptocurrency to mask ￰1￱ traced the group through blockchain transactions, leading to arrests and the seizure of heroin and ￰2￱ said the case proves dark web drug operations can be tracked and ￰3￱ Magala, 37, from Portsmouth, was found to be behind an online persona that had been selling heroin and crack cocaine through several dark web marketplaces since 2020, according to a report by the ￰4￱ accomplices, Alain Kirunda-Nsiiro, 39, and Jerome Omard, 44, both from Waltham Forest, London, handled packaging and distribution through a local Post Office in ￰5￱ Cybercrime Unit Traced Drug Network Through Cryptocurrency Transactions The South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU) began tracking the group after detecting cryptocurrency transactions linked to drug ￰6￱ July 2022, officers intercepted Omard on his way to mail drug parcels and discovered 138 grams of heroin hidden inside a music ￰7￱ searches uncovered additional narcotics at his ￰8￱ was arrested the same day and found in possession of £3,150 in cryptocurrency and several crypto hardware devices.

A search of his home revealed a pill press and small quantities of tablets. Kirunda-Nsiiro was detained days later and charged after further evidence tied him to the ￰9￱ Reading Crown Court, Magala was sentenced to 11 years and three months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin, and to acquiring criminal ￰10￱ received four years and six months, also after a guilty plea, while Kirunda-Nsiiro was handed 12 years following a two-week ￰11￱ Inspector Rob Bryant described the case as “a complex operation” that combined physical and digital investigation techniques. “I hope this shows criminals that their activities on the dark web are detectable,” he said, adding that law enforcement continues to monitor and dismantle such online ￰12￱ said the operation demonstrated how coordinated use of blockchain tracing and surveillance can expose even the most sophisticated dark web drug ￰13￱ Hacks Cause $127M in Losses in September Crypto-related hacks caused $127.06 million in losses in September 2025, marking a 22% decline from August’s $163 million, according to blockchain security firm ￰14￱ month saw nearly 20 major exploits, with incidents heavily concentrated in just a few large-scale ￰15￱ the drop, industry experts emphasized that DeFi and blockchain platforms remain highly vulnerable to security breaches. #PeckShieldAlert September 2025 saw ~20 major crypto exploits, resulting in total losses of $127.06M.

This marks a -22% decrease from August's $163M. In a positive development, ~$13M drained from a Venus user in a #phishing attack has been ￰16￱ 5 Hacks: #UXLINK –… ￰17￱ — PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) October 2, 2025 The two biggest hacks involved UXLINK and SwissBorg, accounting for a combined $85 ￰18￱ lost $44.14 million after its multisig wallet was exploited, leading to the unauthorized minting of 10 trillion tokens and a 90% crash in its token ￰19￱ suffered a $41.5 million loss in Solana after hackers breached its API partner, ￰20￱ companies are working with exchanges, law enforcement, and white-hat hackers for damage control and user compensation.