Craigslist: Sydney drug dealers use baby ads to sell drugs
High-purity cocaine, LSD, ice and cannabis are being advertised in the Sydney sections of popular classifieds sites as drug dealers test sneaky new ways of selling their illegal goods.
NSW
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Dealers are using a popular classifieds website to sell drugs and are attempting to conceal their illegal trade by listing their wares in the baby products or children's sections.
Popular buy and sell forum Craigslist contains advertisements for a range of drugs including “weed”, “coke,” ice, pills, heroin, MDMA, Ketamine and LSD.
Some sellers are even offering seven or eight different types of drugs in the one sale.
But the drugs are listed under the children’s section of the site and as products such as “3 wheel scooter,” “Mickey Mouse Bed,” and “Plastic Doll House”.
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Some dealers seem so convinced they won't be caught that they have listed their mobile phone numbers on the site
One advertisement posted in the section Sydney Baby & Kid stuff offers “420 buds, green supply (Sydney).”
Another listed under Furniture promised “coke, pills, LSD, puff, GHB, green”.
A drug user in Newcastle posted an ad under “Large Grey Dining Table Set (with 6 chairs)” but was actually selling “coke, pills, LSD, puff, GHB, and Green”.
Drug and Firearm Squad detective superintendent John Watson said while technology had enhanced in many aspects of modern life, it could also be exploited for illegal activity.
One ad on Craigslist listed under the guise of an ad posting for a child rear bicycle bike seat, the description reads: “It is a well- known and reliable product, fully adjustable and very popular among parents,” along with a picture selling “Charlie” – or cocaine – and “DMT” which is also known as "spirit molecule" due to the intense psychedelic experience.
Another posted under Sydney baby and kid stuff read: “420 buds, green supply (Sydney).” While another ad listed under Furniture promised “coke, pills, LSD, puff, GHB, green”.
A drug user in Newcastle posted an ad under “Large Grey Dining Table Set (with 6 chairs)” but was actually selling “coke, pills, LSD, puff, GHB, and Green”.
Drug and Firearm Squad detective superintendent John Watson said while technology had enhanced in many aspects of modern life, it could also be exploited for illegal activity.
“Technology has allowed drug suppliers to move parts of their business out of public view and target specific markets in the online environment,” Supt Watson said.
“Online drug supply is not new but it poses a unique challenge to law enforcement and we are actively targeting these spaces.”
Police across the state are continuing to pursue drug dealers both online and off but Det Supt Watson said: “We often find that as one site or page is removed, another will be created elsewhere, which indicates there is certainly a market of buyers.
“Technology has allowed drug suppliers to move parts of their business out of public view and target specific markets in the online environment,” Supt Watson said.
“Online drug supply is not new, but it poses a unique challenge to law enforcement and we are actively targeting these spaces.”
Police across the state are continuing to pursue drug dealers both “online and off”, including with Dial-a-Dealer, but Det Supt Watson said: “We often find that as one site or page is removed, another will be created elsewhere, which indicates there is certainly a market of buyers.
“This demand is the biggest issue — while ever there is someone willing to buy illicit drugs, there will be criminals keen to profit from their misery,” he added.
Associate Professor in Criminal Law and member of the Sydney Institute of Criminology Tyrone Kirchengast said drug users and dealers were becoming more brazen.
“Silk Road was the online black market and the first modern darknet market, known as a platform for selling illegal drugs,” he said.
“But now, apps like Snapchat and Whatsapp have become part of everyday life and there is more of a comfort with the use of the technology and getting quick access to anything.”