Loyalist crime gangs flogging cocaine, cannabis and prescription drugs on Telegram

Criminal mobs including South East Antrim UDA are using the encrypted messaging service to advertise anything from prescription drugs to marijuana to crack cocaine.

Drug gangs have long used social media platforms to expand their drug dealing activities but the arrival of encrypted services has offered criminal networks an easy way to grow their business.

The Sunday World has previously revealed how dealers have used WhatsApp to advertise and then ship drugs across the world.

Now Telegram is offering a similar option.

A simple search opened a world of opportunity for anyone shopping for drugs.

The sellers publish videos, share pictures and provide full price lists.

Dealers offer to either post drugs, deliver or arrange a drop.

The Sunday World has seen drugs on offer for delivery to north Belfast, Ballymena, Antrim, Carrick and Larne.

They are offering blue zkittles — a form of marijuana — lemon skunk, prescription drugs and crack cocaine.

One video online purports to show a delivery of lemon skunk to Sandy Row on the Twelfth.

Prescription drugs Bensedine, Tramadol and Xanax are all on offer.

A blister of 50 Xanax tablets — a strong tranquilliser — will cost £120.

A seller warned other dealers to stay out of his patch while offering “uncut raw cocaine’’ at £100 a gram.

“Real American Kasol (sic)” — a heavy tranquilliser — is also available.

There is a constant flow of messages and potential buyers.

One seller posts a video of the speedometer in his car with the motto “speed kills, smoke weed, my weed”.

Bizarrely, a pair of Nike trainers and an Xbox game console are offered up as payment for drugs.

Meanwhile, a number of drug gangs in the North are nursing a severe financial headache after the seizure last week in England of a £2-£3 million drug cache.

A 30-year-old man was arrested after the drugs found were found in a van destined for Northern Ireland.

Police in the West Midlands seized suspected cocaine and cannabis after officers were called to reports of a suspicious van in the Walsall area near Birmingham on Thursday.

Response officers found what was described as a “substantial” amount of class A and B drugs after gaining entry to the van.

The BBC has reported that the 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply. He was later released on bail.

The PSNI’s organised crime unit said it was working in conjunction with West Midlands Police as part of investigations into the seizure.

According to the BBC, PSNI Det Insp Sweeney said the drugs would likely have been distributed and sold in communities in Northern Ireland.

“The organised crime gangs involved in this activity profit hugely from the sale of these harmful drugs and have no care for the destruction and harm they cause to people’s lives,” he said.

“We will continue every effort to disrupt this criminality, working with other UK and international policing teams to do so.”

The Sunday World understands the drugs were due to be divided between a number of outfits, notably East Belfast UVF and South East Antrim UDA.

They were due to be collected at Belfast docks and moved to a location in Co Down away from Belfast from where it was to be distributed.

The seizure has left crime bosses with a big hole in their finances.

Forced to pay up front, they are now facing a major financial shortfall.

One criminal source told us it could lead to higher prices on the street.

“These guys are not short of money but they don’t like to take a hit like this and like any business, legitimate or otherwise, it is always the customer who makes up the shortfall,” he said.

He said gangs here were constantly reviewing their supply networks.

“If this route is compromised they’ll move on, but it has been a significant setback.”