Facebook home to illegal narcotic trade operating in plain sight across the city
BRAZEN criminals are using public Facebook groups to create drug dealing hubs that connect sellers and users under the guise of fruit and vegetable marketplaces.
NSW
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IT MIGHT not be as brazen as LA’s infamous downtown Skid Row open drug market, but Sydney currently has an illegal narcotic trade operating in plain sight across the city.
Drug dealers are advertising their products to potential clients online, without even using the anonymity of the dark web to cover their nefarious activities.
Instead, brazen criminals are using public Facebook groups to create drug dealing hubs that connect sellers and users under the guise of fruit and vegetable marketplaces.
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Unlike notorious Facebook groups like Bad Girls Advice and Blokes Advice, which are hidden from the public and can only be joined by invite, these drug markets can easily be found with a quick search on the social media platform.
Although the groups are closed, users only need to click a single button to be granted access by admin. Once inside they are introduced to a world of drug deals and vigilante justice.
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“Ever been ripped off, short changed or f***d around? Here we don’t want to hear about it, we make it simple and discreet, feel free to order what ever you want,” one of the larger group’s description reads.
Members are encouraged to use fruit and vegetable related code names to hide the illegal activities. However, the secret language easily able to be deciphered, with “broccoli” used for marijuana, “kale” for ketamine, “light salad dressing” for LSD and “capsicum” for capsules of MDMA.
Despite efforts to hide the iniquitous sales, dealers and customers often blatantly use drug names, sometimes even including pictures.
Drugs for sale include everything from weed, MDMA, ketamine, LSD, steroids, ice, heroin and even a wide array of pharmaceuticals.
Similar to the dark web, some dealers post photos with the groups name written on a piece of paper next to the product so potential customers know they are authentic, while others provide screenshots of feedback from people who have purchased from them.
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The “feedback” system also extends to customers warning other members of scammers and standover men who have robbed them when they have gone to pick up drugs, sharing pictures and links to their personal profiles.
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In a terrifying turn of events, some clients have also shared accounts of being held up at knifepoint, with one user even saying he had a shotgun pulled on him during one drug deal gone wrong.
The news of users getting robbed has led to a number of people suggesting vigilante justice for those involved.
“What the f*** … should arrange to meet that prick and bring your own gun,” replied one user.
The trend came to light in April when a Facebook group known as “Vegetables Australia” was shut down by police.
Eight men were arrested over the alleged ring being operated from the inner-Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst.
Police alleged hundreds of thousands of dollars passed through the syndicate, which a group of French nationals on student visas operated.
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Drug users could order by texting or calling the syndicate’s “run phone” that was advertised on the “Vegetables Australia” Facebook page. Another option was to use encrypted messaging app Wickr.
Police alleged they observed and listened as syndicate members handled tens of thousands of dollars and discussed how they obtained and moved the drugs.
One of the accused said he concealed drugs inside hair gel containers and smuggled them past border security.
“I have done it ten times now and they all got through,” he said, the police facts alleged.
The group was arrested when officers from Strike Force Oramzi raided an eastern suburbs home, Hyde Park hotel room and an apartment where $168,000 was found in a shoebox.
Police allege they found a further $13,000 cash in the Hyde Park room and 599 tabs of LSD.
Despite shutting down the original group, mirror pages for “Vegetables Australia” and other pages related to other capital cities have surfaced on the social platform since the arrests, continuing the game of cat and mouse between law enforcement and criminals.
Facebook previously said it encouraged all users to report any inappropriate accounts, content or activity so it can review and remove any that are not consistent with its policies.
The Daily Telegraph has contacted NSW police for comment.
Continue the conversation with Matthew Dunn on Facebook and Twitter. matthew.dunn2@news.com.au