KOCHI: Anti-drug enforcement agencies are up against a big challenge in Kochi. The Telegram mobile app, which was infamous for being misused by terror outfits and to circulate child porn, is also popular among drug traffickers.
Several groups and channels in the app are operating under different names to deliver drugs ranging from ganja and MDMA to LSD to buyers in various blocks in Kochi city. Special Branch officials said the groups generally handle marijuana while expensive drugs like cocaine, MDMA and LSD are trafficked based on specific requirement.
“Operations of such Telegram groups are highly decentralised to ensure that handlers do not know each other and to shield suppliers and distributors from law enforcement officers even if low-level dealers get busted,” said an officer.
Cyber experts said the messages for ordering drugs in the groups are handled by bots which typically respond with a menu of items available for purchase under names like “Hawaii Beach” or “Cheese Flavour.” Payments too are made via an encrypted payment platform following which buyers get GPS coordinates of the delivery point.
Drug trafficking in the state using Telegram was confirmed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the assembly on August 11. He had said the functioning of certain Telegram channels that were into the illegal activity had come to the attention of Hi-tech cell and Cyber wing and they were closely monitoring it.
ACP (Narcotic Cell) Abdul Salam they were able to bust traffickers that used courier services to deliver drugs. “We haven’t got any specific leads on Telegram being used to indulge in such activities so far. The cyber team is constantly on the lookout for such groups,” he said.
Cyber security expert and Technisanct CEO Nandkishore Harikumar said Telegram, by design, was extremely difficult for the police to track. “Our research shows that Telegram is being widely misused for anti-national and other illegal activities. Enforcement agencies can ask Telegram for data, which they may or may not provide,” he said, adding that these days, tech-savvy criminals are using the app’s open source code to create bots for interacting with users. “This allows the criminals to stay totally hidden and continue with their illegal activities,” Harikumar said.
Cyber security expert and member of the Data Security Council of India Manu Zacharia said agencies can bust such Telegram channels or groups only by updating themselves with the changes happening in the cyber world and by embracing the technical skills that are on a par with the criminals using such apps for drug trafficking and other illegal activities.