San Diego Authorities Crack Down on Internet Drug Sales: Dealers Sold Using Code Names on Facebook and Craiglist
A five-month long undercover investigation has led officers of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department to crackdown hard on drug dealers who have been using the Internet to push products and attack customers.
Last week the department announced that under Operation.com, it had made 19 arrests, confiscated drugs and seized $25,000 in U.S. and Mexican currency, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Drug dealers had been using social media sites, such as Facebook and Craigslist, to sells drugs. They would use ads with code names including "roofing tar" for heroin and "Roxy board shorts size 30" for 30 milligrams of Roxicodone.
Cmdr. Mike Barletta told the Times that the black market sales over the Internet made it easy for both the buyer and the dealers to move drugs.
"You would not believe how easy it is," Barletta said. "Anyone, any time, can go online and do the search. ... The dealer tells you where and when to meet; they'll be there and get you pretty much what you would like."
Barletta said there is a website that provides the list of all the code names drug dealers use for items, such as heoin, methamphetamine, LSD, cocaine, Ecstasy and prescription drugs. He and department advised parents or guardians to familiarize themselves with the all the terms.
According to the Times, undercover deputies made 41 buys and the ages of the 19 arrested ranged from 19 to 45 years old. The majority of them had were unemployed or students from San Diego, Escondido, Poway, El Cajon, La Mesa, Encinitas and Menifee.
Barletta added that more arrests are expected to come as there are seven outstanding arrest warrants.
Internet sales for illicit drugs have sparked a nationwide issue in the past few years, the Times reported.
A 29-year-old man was arrested in San Francisco in 2013 on suspicion of running Silk Road, a website that sold marijuana and other drugs around the world. Authorities arrested the man after he allegedly asked an undercover FBI agent to kill a former employee.