HYDERABAD: WhatsApp and Facebook are a passe now, drug peddlers in Hyderabad have now moved to Snapchat as this mobile application automatically deletes content uploaded onto it within 24 hours. As drug peddlers are now contacting customers on this application, law enforcement agencies are having a tough time cracking down on the drug trade.
Snapchat has several unique features that make it a boon for peddlers. For instance, senders and receivers can activate an option to delete chats immediately after viewing it or after 24 hours. Also, those sending messages get a notification if the receiver takes screenshots of the messages. TS Prohibition and Excise department officials say this makes it difficult for them to probe such cases.
Earlier, when enforcement teams caught drug peddlers in July 2017, the data obtained from mobile phones of the accused gave them ample leads like names of other peddlers, customers, prices among other details.
In fact, this is how it was found that drugs were being sold to school going adolescents.