Drug cartels shift money laundering to cryptocurrency; police struggle to track transactions as gig economy enables cash-to-crypto exchanges in public spaces like California parks

Drug Cartels Are Shifting Their Money Laundering to Crypto. Cops Can’t Keep Up

February 11, 2026 at 10:00 AM UTCThe pitch was simple: Crypto for “cold hard cash.” No names. No questions asked.David Scotese posted his ads online, but the transactions played out in the open, at Victory Park in Murrieta, California. The park was the heart of the community. Soccer games on the lawn. Birthday parties in the shade of a gazebo. And there in the parking lot, Scotese in a 10-year-old maroon Honda Accord....