Police warn illicit drugs are labeled with emojis on social media. Here’s a breakdown of those drug emojis
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- Law enforcement officials say drug dealers are using emojis on social media sites to identify the illicit drugs for sale.
- A case involving edibles that were sold to a teenager in Lompoc prompted authorities to issue a warning about the use of emojis.
Law enforcement officials warn that social media sites are increasingly being used as storefronts for illicit drug sales, and emojis — those cute tiny symbols and characters — are being used as codes names for drugs that are available for purchase.
An investigation into a case in Lompoc prompted authorities to break down the meaning of the emojis to help the public decode the illicit transactions.
The drug case involved several students from Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, in the northeastern Santa Barbara County, who fell ill after ingesting edible cannabis products in February, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, which issued a warning about online drug sales this week.
The sheriff’s office did not specify how many students were involved in the incident or what kind of cannabis products the students ate.
Detectives from the sheriff’s Cannabis Compliance Team and the school’s resource deputy launched an investigation into the incident and determined that a 15-year-old student was provided edible cannabis products by an adult, Flor Yudith Zamora, 21, of Lompoc.
The 15-year-old brought the cannabis products to the high school where the teen shared it with other students.
Upon further investigation, detectives found that Zamora was using an Instagram account called “malas.smokez” to sell cannabis products, psilocybin (also known as “shrooms”), nicotine products, codeine (an opiate) and alcohol to underaged children, according to authorities.
In payments transactions and messages about the products, detectives found that emojis were used to identify the drugs that were being sold.
The emojis were used in the discussions about payments sent to Zamora using Zelle and Cash App, services that allow peer-to-peer payments.
In 2021, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had investigated more than 80 cases involving drug trafficking on internet apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube.
Available drugs were advertised on these apps in stories that disappeared within 24 hours and in posts that were removed after a certain amount of time, according to the federal agency.
More than 60 families are suing Snap, arguing the Santa Monica-based company is responsible for drug sales to teens that are facilitated through its app. Snap denies the allegations.
In a published report, the agency found that once contact was made by commenting on a post or directly messaging the social media account, the conversation was then moved to encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram.
Once a deal was made, drug sellers requested payment using peer-to-peer transaction services such as Venmo, Zelle, Cash App and Remitly.
Officials from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are asking parents to review their children’s social media accounts for suspicious activity or unfamiliar contacts.
“Talk to them about the dangers of illegal drug activity and the risks of engaging with unknown individuals online,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Anyone with information that could be helpful in this case is encouraged to contact the sheriff’s Cannabis Compliance Team at (805) 681-4150 or by email at cannabistips@sbsheriff.org. Anonymous tips can be made by calling the office’s tip line at (805) 681-4171 or online at SBSheriff.org.
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