On Thursday, Interpol warned that criminal gangs are using fast food delivery workers to deliver drugs to customers in their homes, due to the closures taken to combat the spread of the Corona epidemic.
In a statement, INTERPOL clarified that cocaine, marijuana, ketamine and MDMA drugs are transported in pizza boxes or other takeaway containers in several countries, such as Ireland, Malaysia, Spain and Britain.
The agency issued a "purple notice" to warn its 194 member agencies of this "new way of working" that relies on transport workers using bicycles, motorcycles or cars.
With drug dealers and consumers remaining in their homes like the rest of society, some drivers take advantage of this time to make a quick profit, while some merchants pretend to be delivery workers, and some workers have been documented to deliver food without their knowledge.
Interpol said that a delivery worker in Kuala Lumpur called the police when asked to deliver a package of Indian bread, so he felt he was carrying something suspicious that weighed about 11 kg.
In Spain, seven people pretending to be delivery workers were arrested in Alicante and Valencia, after drugs were found in hidden pockets in the backpacks for food delivery.
In Ireland, the police found eight kilograms of cocaine and two pistols hidden in pizza boxes.
"The closures at the country level have contributed greatly to increasing food orders to the home," said INTERPOL, which provides the ideal cover for drug deliveries to its users.