Cannabis herb (illustration).
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The hashtag #Lille has become a keyword on social media for drug traffickers.
This keyword also brings up advertisements to obtain weapons or counterfeit money.
The work of the police on trafficking via social networks is complicated by the anonymity they provide and the rules of these companies.
Stups and collect.
Only a few years ago, obtaining narcotics was still relatively complicated for the consumer without contact.
You had to either master the mysteries of the dark web, or take your courage in both hands to get to a known point of deal.
Social media has radically changed the game and it is now easier to dig up cannabis or cocaine than a spare part for an old Twingo.
On WhatsApp, Snapchat or even Twitter, the guarantee of almost total anonymity complicates the task of the police officers and gendarmes responsible for combating trafficking of all kinds.
For dubious people who are convinced that we are exaggerating, they just have to go to Twitter and type in the search bar the very innocent #Lille.
The result is edifying, so much so that it is even difficult to find a hashtag-related post among dozens of ads offering various kinds of narcotics for sale.
Cannabis, cocaine, heroin, ketamine, LSD… Rarer and also more worrying, we sometimes find advertisements for the sale of weapons or counterfeit money.
Catchy hashtags to entice the customer
"It is forbidden to use our service for illicit purposes or for the pursuit of illegal activities", replied Twitter, questioned by
20 Minutes
.
At this level, what risk do offenders risk?
"If your account is dedicated to the sale of illegal or regulated goods and / or services, it can be permanently suspended", adds the operator.
However, it was not clear to us whether the offending accounts were reported to the authorities.
In the process, Twitter eliminated some accounts that
20 Minutes
had given as an example to illustrate its request.
Accounts which were replaced almost immediately by others.
Anyway, criminals only use this platform to "hook" the customer with topical hashtags like #coronavirus, #confinement and, therefore, #Lille.
The idea is that people who are really interested order on other platforms.
We took the experience a little further by contacting three different sellers, two on Snapchat and one on WhatsApp.
The least that can be said is that they are very responsive.
In a few minutes, we had received the list of available products as well as the price list.
For novices, the interlocutor explains the procedure.
You just have to say what you want and pay, either in Bitcoins or via a prepaid card.
Delivery is then made to the address indicated.
When doubts are expressed, the interlocutor wants to be reassuring, even going so far as to send screenshots of discussions with satisfied customers.
"Promotional offers" and "home delivery"
“My dealer does Snap stories to inform about new products, for example.
It also adapts to the context.
For the New Year, he warned that it was necessary to order in advance to be sure of being delivered, ”explains to
20 Minutes
a regular of this type of service.
The coronavirus epidemic has also induced some changes: "Delivery men no longer travel for small quantities and, with the curfew, they refuse to move after 8 p.m.", assures the client.
“Many users receive promotional offers by SMS or via applications and social networks,” confirms a 2019 report from the French Drugs Observatory.
This same report states that these "regular reminders and other marketing techniques aim to build customer loyalty" and that home delivery is booming.
Behind the multiple accounts on social media, there are probably quite a few people.
After contacting several, the responses received were almost identical, word for word.
An interlocutor on Snapchat, supposed to irrigate all of France, told us that he could ensure deliveries to Lille in 30 minutes.
"I always contact the same number on WhatsApp, but it is almost never the same person who comes to deliver the product to me," admits another customer.
One of our contacts on the same network confirmed that the orders had to be “validated by the boss” before being sent.
We didn't go that far.
A particularly difficult task for the police
For the authorities, this is a real headache, especially because the headquarters of these social networks are located abroad, mainly in the United States.
Neither Snapchat nor WhatsApp spontaneously track this type of hijacking of their applications.
For the first, it is up to a user to report illegal content to the police, who must then seize the company by means of a rogatory commission issued by a judge.
For WhatsApp, the process is almost the same.
In this regard, the sub-directorate of the judicial police in charge of the fight against cyber crime refused to respond to requests from
20 Minutes
.
We are also still awaiting a return from the Anti-Narcotic Office (OFAST) and the national gendarmerie.
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Drug
WhatsApp
By the Web
Lille
Social networks
Cannabis
Snapchat