TELEGRAM SLAMMED
Ecstasy, cannabis, pistols, semi-automatic rifles, ammo and cash.. all for sale on crooks’ app of choice
Drugs, guns and fake money are being sold to Scots via a Russian version of WhatsApp.
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Brazen criminals are using Telegram to peddle their wares to thousands of users in exchange for cryptocurrency and even iTunes vouchers, a Sunday Mail probe has discovered.
The social media site – set up by a man dubbed “the Mark Zuckerberg of Russia” – has become an essential communication tool for soldiers and civilians caught up in the Ukraine war.
But it’s also being increasingly used by crooks and extremists as its endto-end encryption guarantees no one else can see what’s being said.
Our probe discovered Scottish groups where dangerous contraband was bought and delivered all over the country – using unwitting postal staff as couriers in their criminal network.
Officials and police said they were working hard to halt the sickening ng trade. But a leading politician and d drug campaigner has warned it’s like e “trying to stop the tide with your fingers”. rs”.
On one group, Scotland Black Market, ket, dealers sell everything from opiates to semi-automaticatic guns and documents i n c lud i n g fake money. . Drugs pushed d include ecstasy and d powerful liquid id opiates l ike ke Farmapra n , linked to Mexican drug rug cartels, and antintihistamine drug Promethazine,ne whichisusedtomawhichisusedtomake ke a drug cocktail dubbed Sizzurp by US users. Cannabis and edible versions of the drug is also sold, with minimum orders for 100g costing £ 420.
Organisers, who share pictures of what they are selling with the channel’s nearly 9000 subscribers, posted the rules and wrote: “Send me a picture of what you need. Send me your delivery details. Do payments (Bitcoin or iTunes giftcards). Patiently wait for your package to be delivered as fast as possible.”
Other posts include boasts they can supply pistols, semi-automatic rif les and ammo. Guns on offer include the Glock 30 Gen4. Piles of £20 Bank of England banknotes are also pictured and offered on the site.
Other posts include Royal Mail tracking receipts for packages handed over in post offices from January where dealers promise the system is “safe and discreet”. Desperate users can get same-day delivery for an added cost.
On Dundee Kush Hut , 4366 subscribers are promised “top-shelf cannabis bud and edibles … and have it delivered to you at your doorstep”.
Edinburgh Kush Hut also has dealers pushing super-powerful cannabis, skunk and hash.
Edinburgh University professor Susan McKie, who’s studied how dealers use Royal Mail, said: “Drug dealers have diversified how they operate in the last decade and this is part of that – using cryptocurrency and even iTunes giftcards to avoid detection.
“It’s not surprising these platforms are also being used to sell other illegal contrabands. Whe n we looked at the drugs intercepted, three-quarters of the parcels were large enough to suggest they were being used to buy wholesale before selling on.”
Dodgy groups our undercover reporters had been members of have been shut but new ones were still springing up last week.
Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said: “The ability to intercept and stop drug, weapon and fake documents being sold via apps like Telegram is becoming increasingly hard. It’s like trying to stop the tide with your fingers.”
The Post Office said it had tipped off police about suspicious packages, including £25,000 worth of cocaine seized last year destined for Dingwal l. A spokesman added: “Postmasters and staf f fol low processes set by Royal Mail and ask customers if what they are sending contains prohibited items.”
Detective Superintendent Craig Willison said: “We are aware websites and online platforms are used to sell illegal firearms and drugs. Any cases we identify or are made aware of will be thoroughly investigated.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We work closely with the police and Border Force to help stop the carriage and delivery of illegal drugs from the Dark Web.”