Use of dating apps for drug deals on the rise in New Zealand – and emojis send a signal

A rising number of New Zealanders are buying drugs via social media, including dating apps, an extensive research project has found. Herald composite photo

Dating apps accounted for 5% of those sales.

While that figure is dwarfed by the 54% who have purchased drugs via other social media platforms such as Facebook, 48% by Snapchat and 25% by Instagram, drug research team member Dr Robin van der Sanden told the Herald it was a growth area.

“So many of these kinds of structures [social media and dating apps] can be repurposed for drug market purposes,” van der Sanden said.

“It’s very convenient, it’s very easy. A common theme you hear from people is also that they feel like it makes buying drugs kind of safer. It can take a lot of the stress out … having to go to a tinny house and deal with a gang member.”

The annual New Zealand Drug Trends survey is completed by the New Zealand Drugs Research Team at Massey University’s Massey Shore & Whāriki Research Centre, which van der Sanden is a member of.

Drug researcher Robin van der Sanden says an increasing number of New Zealanders are buying drugs via social media – including from dating apps – so they don’t have to deal with gang-affiliated drug dealers. Photo / Supplied

The 2024 survey garnered insights from almost 11,000 drug users.

Its findings included how gangs were increasingly controlling the sale of meth and cannabis in some regions, and the rise of social media as a tool for drug deals.

How Kiwis are hooking up with drug dealers on dating apps

Tinder and Grindr are the highest-profile dating apps where drugs are being bought and sold.

Tinder, which launched in 2012, says it is the “world’s most popular dating app”, boasting 55 billion matches to date.

Grindr – which is three years older – says it is the “world’s largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans and queer people”.

It has facilitated dealing in Class A and B drugs such as meth, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and GHB, according to researchers.

Those behind some Grindr profiles would “advertise” through certain emojis that they had access to, or dealt in, specific drugs.

The Grindr app has been used for drug deals, as well as personal hook-ups with the offer of drugs thrown in. Photo / 123RF

That has included a diamond emoji to signify meth and a snowflake to signify meth or cocaine.

Some users who had access to drugs were also using emojis to indicate what substances they could share if there was an intimate hook-up.

“On Grindr the profile might have a certain kind of emoji, like a diamond emoji or something in the bio, and that … could signal like, ‘I’ve got meth for sale’, or ‘I’ve got meth that I can share with you if we meet up’.”

The emojis were constantly changing, van der Sanden said.

The research also found some drug users were using Tinder only to try to source drugs – they were not trying to find potential love matches.

That included people who might have relocated to a new region and wanted to buy cannabis but didn’t have local contacts.

Some people have used Tinder to match with other users to find drug-dealing connections, rather than intimacy. Photo / 123rf

“You could do it kind of reasonably safely if you look for a certain kind of person that you think, ‘Oh, he looks a bit like he might enjoy the odd bong on the weekend’,” van der Sanden said.

“You can try and match with that person and say, ‘Hey, I’m actually looking to buy some weed. Do you know anyone?’.

“You probably will need this person to help you meet up with their dealer, if they have one, so they might have to come and pick you up and buy the weed for you. You might give them some of your weed to say thank you.”

Police respond about social media drug sales – but researcher warns they are fighting a ‘losing game’

The ever-rising use of social media platforms and apps to deal drugs – and to carry out illegal firearms sales – is not news to New Zealand Police.

Last year, Wellington police arrested two men and charged them with a range of drugs offences, including the alleged sale of drugs online.

One of the men was allegedly offering to sell “significant amounts” of cocaine via social media and encrypted applications.

Two men were arrested in Wellington last year for allegedly using social media apps to sell large quantities of cocaine. Photo / 123RF

When asked about the use of dating apps to carry out drug deals, a police spokesperson told the Herald police were aware “some apps and social media platforms are used for drug-related activity”.

“We routinely scan a number of open-source applications and platforms for signs of illegal activity,” the spokesperson said.

Police added that anyone who had concerns about drugs being sold online or via social media apps should contact them.

But van der Sanden said going after mostly “lowest-tier” drug dealers selling via social media would be a time-consuming and complicated matter.

Apps were increasingly being used for drug transactions “largely because of convenience”, including most adults having smartphones with encrypted messaging apps.

Snapchat was “distinctly appealing” for drug deals because of the app’s security features, including “self-deleting messages and anonymous usernames”.

She believed it would be very hard for police to thoroughly crack down on social media drug-dealing – including via dating apps – saying it would be like fighting “a losing game”.

“It’s not like they’re stopping these drugs coming into the country,” van der Sanden said.

The researcher said those advertising on social media “generally speaking, they are not going to be the big-dog sellers”.

Given the amount of time it would take to try to chase down some of the smaller sellers on social media, she questioned whether that time would be worth it for police.

Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 33 years of newsroom experience.

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