Delivery riders could be complicit or unwitting links in drug transportation
DRUG dealers in multiple countries are resorting to food delivery services to transport their products during coronavirus lockdowns, Interpol warned on Thursday.
The international police organisation sent out an alert to forces around the world after police in Britain, Ireland, Malaysia and Spain all reported the use of delivery drivers to transport drugs.
Spanish police in April arrested seven people dressed as food delivery drivers who were delivering cocaine and marijuana by bicycle, motorcycle and car, the Lyon-based organisation said.
Some of the drugs had been concealed inside false bottoms in home delivery backpacks.
In Ireland, police found eight kilograms of cocaine and two handguns hidden in pizza boxes.
Malaysian police meanwhile reported being contacted by a delivery rider who became suspicious when what was supposed to be a single order of flatbread weighed 11 kilograms.
Delivery riders could be complicit or unwitting links in drug transportation, and criminals could also falsely disguise themselves as delivery drivers, Interpol said.
– dpa
