RAPID CITY, S.D. – As students head back to school, the Drug Enforcement Administration is warning parents that drug traffickers are increasingly using social media platforms and messaging apps to reach young people.
The DEA says dealers often use code words, emojis and disappearing messages to advertise illegal drugs before moving conversations to encrypted apps. Payments can be made through digital payment services, with drugs sometimes delivered in ways that resemble standard online purchases.
The agency recently launched a new educational video series called “Hidden on Your Kid’s Phone” to help parents recognize warning signs and understand how traffickers operate online.
The DEA’s Omaha Field Division, which includes South Dakota, reports that agents have seized more than 67,000 fentanyl pills so far this year. Fentanyl powder seizures are also up nearly 87 percent compared to the same period last year.
Officials are encouraging parents to have open conversations with their children about the dangers of purchasing pills online, warning that even a single counterfeit pill may contain a potentially deadly dose of fentanyl.
Additional resources are available through the DEA’s One Pill Can Kill campaign and the Hidden on Your Kid’s Phone program.
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