Virtual money for drug deals

MANILA, Philippines–The recent arrest of an alleged drug dealer in Manila revealed an alarming move in the narcotics network to replace cash transactions with deals using the online currency known as bitcoins, authorities said Friday.

A joint statement by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) cited an example in the case of Prabhjot Singh Gill, an Indian national arrested March 23 for being a “bigtime” supplier of the party drug ecstasy in Metro Manila and Central Luzon provinces.

Gill, 18, a student at De La Salle University, was arrested by agents of PDEA and the Manila Police District’s Malate station at One Archer’s Place, a condominium building just beside DLSU. Seized from the suspect were 223 ecstasy tablets worth P334,500.

The BOC and PDEA said the bulk of the ecstasy pills sold at the recent 7107 International Music Festival in Clark, Pampanga province, came from Gill. Four people were also arrested for marijuana possession during the two-day concert held late February.

Gill’s arrest at the Taft Avenue condominium confirmed fears that bitcoins were being used for shady transactions on the Internet, among them drug trafficking and money laundering, according to a PDEA official.

“Our interview on Gill revealed that drug traders are taking advantage of the Internet and online selling sites. These findings (present) another challenge and will change the way we operate,” said PDEA Regional Director Jeoffrey Tacio.

Bitcoin is a new and unregulated virtual currency that can be used to buy different merchandise anonymously.

Several marketplaces called “bitcoin exchanges” allow people to buy or sell bitcoins using different currencies. People can also send bitcoins to each other using mobile apps or computers. The system is similar to sending cash digitally.

Bitcoins are stored in a “digital wallet,” which exists either in the Internet cloud or on a user’s computer. And though each bitcoin transaction is recorded in a public log, the names of the buyers and sellers are never revealed—only their wallet IDs.

The value of a bitcoin can fluctuate wildly due to external events and supply is partly dictated by the discovery of more bitcoins.

Gill had admitted to buying 500 ecstasy tablets from a black market website, the statement said. The drugs, which he had mailed to the Philippines from The Netherlands, were paid for using bitcoin.

Each pill had a street value of P1,500, PDEA said. With Inquirer Research