Uncovered - Drug dealers target Darlington with QR Code stickers

A Hits Radio Teesside investigation has revealed QR code stickers promoting illegal drug sales in Gatesheade.

The stickers feature cannabis leaf designs and are placed conspicuously on street furniture.

Several of these stickers were discovered promoting next-day delivery for cannabis products.

Darlington Council have confirmed their trading standards teams and the police are actively investigating the QR stickers following our investigation.

Jake Towns is the leader of the young person's team for WithYou in Darlington at STRIDE. They provie drug and alcohol support. They're aware of these stickers popping up:

"It is really concerning to see QR codes dotted around, and this is drug dealers increasing their reach.

We have seen with the rise in dangerous synthetic drugs, sometimes called spice, many people nowadays don't actually know what they're taking.

In our service we know that not everything that is sold is what it claims to be. We've seen fake pills, contaminated drugs and substances labelled as one drug but containing another.

Working with young people and understanding the drug landscape locally it's becoming more common to see spice found in vapes and edibles.

Whether you're a young person, a parent, or you just have questions, reach out, there is always support available to help."

When scanned, these QR codes direct users to websites offering pre-rolled joints and cannabis gummies.

Nick Hawe, a former police detective who specialised in online criminality, warns that these websites might be scams - potentially defrauding individuals seeking to purchase these substances:

"Slick branding and reviews are easy to fake, and, using temptations like next day delivery are great, until the customer loses their money and there's no delivery at all.

People could lose an awful lot, money, banking apps, online accounts, social media and their contacts.

I would simply say report it, report it, report it - to police, to report fraud, who used to be called action fraud and to the local council where these stickers are found.

We must have the knowledge so we can tackle it and make more people aware"

Have you spotted one of these QR Code stickers where you live? Let us know.

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