UK Crime Gang Creates Meme Coin to Launder Drug Money

Rather than using established digital assets like Bitcoin or Ethereum and funneling them through traditional mixing services, this gang opted for a more hands-on approach: they created a meme coin. The goal? To spark viral online interest, inflate the token’s value, and then cash out, making their earnings appear as legitimate gains from the crypto market rather than proceeds from crime.

Investigators say the group, operating in the mid-tier of organized crime, has its hands in everything from drug distribution and fraud to trafficking counterfeit goods and illicit tobacco. The identity of both the gang and the token has not been disclosed, but the method is raising serious alarms.

Gary Carroll, a specialist in drug-related criminal networks, noted that while crypto has long been a tool for laundering, meme coins now present a simpler and faster route. The gang’s strategy reportedly revolves around leveraging social media hype to pump the coin’s value before rapidly dumping it for cash, disguising illegal profits as earnings from digital entrepreneurship.

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With the ease of launching new tokens—thanks in part to platforms known as launchpads—experts warn that this might be the beginning of a wider trend. Meme coin-related scams have already wreaked havoc on the market, causing billions in losses through fraudulent schemes like pump-and-dumps and rug pulls.

Carroll believes this approach could become increasingly common. He expects future court cases to spotlight the tactic, as more criminal groups look to “semi-legitimize” their operations through the deceptive appearance of tech innovation.

A recent report by Merkle Science highlighted just how widespread meme coin scams have become. In 2024 alone, over half a billion dollars were lost in these schemes. The vast majority of incidents stemmed from platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube, with social engineering playing a major role. Solana was identified as the most common blockchain used for rug pulls, largely due to tools that simplify the creation and marketing of meme tokens.

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