British Drug Gang makes “memecoin,” tries pump and dump trick

A Britain-based drug gang has created its cryptocy, albeit a “meme coin,” not for instant fame but to launder their ill-earned money, according to an independent investigation carried out. The gang, based out of UK, had invested some of its drug money to launch a memecoin and then tried to capitalize on the classic “pump and dump” trick to make serious money.

According to a report published in the Dailymail, private investigator Gary Carroll, an expert in drug crimes with a policing background, discovered the particular gang and their memecoin in his investigation. Explaining the gang’s modus operandi, Carroll said the gang had hired developers to create a memecoin, resembling OneCoin- a fake cryptocy launched in Germany that turned out to be a giant Ponzi scheme. Carroll has chosen not to reveal the identity of the gang or the memecoin, claiming it to be ongoing criminal activity.

He further said that the gang’s plan isn’t about the coin’s technology. Instead of it, the gang uses it for a scam called a “pump and dump” to launder their illegal money. Criminals have been using cryptocurrencies to launder their money for a while now, but this is the first time that a criminal enterprise has created a token to not just launder their money but also attempt to profit from the coin. They are using illicit money to first pay developers to create a memecoin and then have invested the remaining amount in that coin,” explained Carroll to Daily Mail.