A bipartisan pair of senators in the United States has sent an inquiry to government agencies regarding efforts to combat the use of cryptocurrencies in the illicit fentanyl market.
Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and William Cassidy (R-La.) a letter has been sent Office of National Drug Control Policy and Drug Enforcement AdministrationIn which it is written:
[We] Demand an update on Biden administration actions to crack down on drug traffickers exploiting crypto to grow their business and launder their ill-gotten profits
The senators claim that the use of cryptocurrency in the fentanyl trade is growing rapidly, and much of the drug is reaching the US for consumption. The letter, addressed to ONDCP Director Rahul Gupta and DEA Administrator Anne Melissa Milgram, asks the agencies to respond by June 14.
Questions over crypto fentanyl trade
The senators are seeking information on the importance of cryptocurrencies in drug trafficking, new initiatives to be implemented over the next 12 months, metrics for measuring success, and challenges their offices face in those efforts. The senators cite data showing that Chinese companies supplying fentanyl precursors received about $30 million in crypto, which they claim is enough to produce $54 billion worth of fentanyl.
Warren has already Criticised for citing incorrect data in her anti-crypto agenda. In a letter addressing illegal cryptocurrency activity, she cited an article that incorrectly stated the extent of cryptocurrency use by Hamas. Although the Wall Street Journal later corrected the article she cited, Warren did not respond publicly.
The development comes after reports in late April that the US had agreed to a deal to halt the spread of the virus due to collaboration between law enforcement agencies in India and the United States. Cryptocurrency drug ring worth $360 million exposed,
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