Drug Dealers Disguised as Food Delivery Couriers

According to the International Police Association, police in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malaysia, and Spain have reported incidents where drug couriers posed as food delivery workers and transported illegal drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, ketamine, and ecstasy. In April, Spanish police arrested seven men dressed in courier uniforms who were carrying cocaine and marijuana on bicycles, motorcycles, and cars. According to Interpol, the drugs were hidden in a false bottom of a food delivery bag.

“Couriers may be accomplices or may be unwittingly involved in transporting drugs. In the cases Interpol is aware of, suspects sometimes disguised themselves as food delivery drivers. In other cases, real food delivery drivers knowingly and willingly delivered drugs on behalf of criminal organizations for financial gain,” the statement said.

The organization also reported that legitimate delivery workers have been unknowingly drawn into drug transportation. In Malaysia, one courier contacted the police after becoming suspicious about the contents of a delivery bag. He was delivering a single order of Indian flatbreads, but the package weighed 11 kilograms.

“Criminals continue to adapt their activities to a world changed by COVID-19,” said Stephen Kavanagh, Executive Director of Interpol’s police services.

There was a similar case in Russia, where a man in the uniform of a food delivery company was caught delivering half a kilogram of marijuana around the city.