Federal agencies have joined forces to combat crimes involving cryptocurrencies in Arizona after seeing an increase in digital transactions related to narcotics, firearms, and other illicit activity.
On June 15, Homeland Security Investigations in Arizona and representatives from four other federal agencies signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the “Darknet Marketplace and Digital Currency Crimes Task Force,” according to a June 20 press release by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The other agencies who signed the agreement are the IRS, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona.
Over the past several years, federal agencies have seen an increase in the use of the internet to facilitate illegal transactions involving narcotics, personal information, firearms, and other contraband, the report said, adding that the use of digital currency to facilitate these transactions has also risen….