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Law enforcement officials warn that social media sites are increasingly being used as storefronts for illegal drug sales, with emojis (cute little symbols and characters) being used as code names for drugs that can be purchased.
The investigation into the incident in Lompoc has helped authorities to destroy the meaning of emojis and decipher illegal public trade.
The drug incident was attended by several students from Cabrillo High School in Lompoc, northeastern Santa Barbara, who fell ill after ingesting edible cannabis products in February, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office did not specify how many students were involved in the incident or what cannabis products the students ate.
The sheriff’s cannabis compliance team and the school’s resource aide detective began investigating the case and determined that the 15-year-old student had been provided with edible cannabis products by adult Flor Yudith Zamora, 21, of Lompoc.
The 15-year-old brought cannabis products to high school, where the teenager shared it with other students.
Upon further investigation, detectives discovered that Zamora uses an Instagram account called “Malas.smokez” to sell cannabis products, psilocybin (also known as “shrooms”), nicotine products, codeine (opium agents), and alcohol to minors.
In payment transactions and messages about the product, detectives discovered that emojis were being used to identify the drugs for sale.
Emojis were used in discussions about payments sent to Zamora using the Zelle and Cash app, which allows peer-to-peer payments.
In 2021, the US Drug Enforcement Agency was investigating more than 80 cases, including drug trafficking on internet apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktok, X, and YouTube.
According to the federal agency, the available drugs were promoted in stories that disappeared within 24 hours on these apps, as well as posts that were deleted after a certain amount of time.
In a published report, it was found that when agents were contacted by commenting on the post or by sending a message directly to their social media accounts, the conversation was moved to encrypted messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, and Telegram.
Once the transaction was made, drug sellers used peer-to-peer transaction services such as Venmo, Zelle, Cash App and Remitly to request payment.
Officials with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office are asking parents to review their children’s social media accounts for suspicious activities and unfamiliar contacts.
“Talking to them about the risks of illegal drug activity and the risks of engaging with unknown individuals online,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Anyone with useful information in this case is encouraged to email the sheriff’s cannabis compliance team to (805) 681-4150 or cannabistips@sbsheriff.org. For anonymous tips, call the office tipline at (805) 681-4171 or call online at sbsheriff.org.
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