Emojis are commonly used to express happiness or hatred to someone you are conversing to on the other line. In a world where various strategies - mostly odd - are used to sell drugs and earn profit, using coded drug emojis and drug emoticons are something unpredictable.
Australian police claimed drug emojis were used in code by a 19-year-old alleged drug dealer to organizer ecstasy and MDMA deals, according to a report by Brisbane Times.
Instead of using the exact drug emojis and drug emoticons which are actually existing, the alleged drug dealer reportedly used "lightning bolts and hearts" to represent drugs in interactions with customers, Sergeant Shane Turner said in the Brisbane Times report.
The messages coded with drug emojis and drug emoticons were reportedly uncovered after the police downloaded the text messages when suspect Regan Howett was charged with supplying drugs.
He was reportedly arrested on Friday in Springfield Lakes and officers allegedly found a knife, a bag of white powder, four mobile phones, and 11 MDMA pills from his bedroom.
"It will be alleged he used these phones to conduct the business of trafficking drugs," Sergeant Turner told Brisbane Times. "He declined to take part in a record of interview."
Howett was reportedly charged with 26 counts of supplying a dangerous drug and trafficking, the report added.
Howett denied the allegations and his lawyer said the police theory that the white power found was cocaine was wrong, the news report said.
"It's not cocaine - it's flour. I was a joke made on a friend," his lawyer said in the Brisbane Times report. "It's not cocaine and analysis will prove that in due course."
Metro UK website said Howett also denied the charges. He was reportedly allowed for temporary release.
With these occurrences involving young people and social media savvy individuals using coded drug emojis and drug emoticons to make dealings, is it high time for tech companies and legislation to make regulations on using these devices?
