Snapchat: Does app give drug gangs access to teenagers?

Minutes aft opening a Snapchat relationship pretending to beryllium a 15-year-old girl, I'm amazed astatine what I see.

Drugs look to beryllium readily disposable - conscionable a mates of clicks away. I thought this satellite was hidden and hard to access, but it is truthful casual to find.

I've gone undercover online to analyse however cause gangs usage societal media to groom children.

The fake relationship is for a 15-year-old miss called Mia.

Setting up Mia's account, I've not gone looking for drugs - oregon followed immoderate accounts that look criminal.

I've lone followed accounts a teen might, similar musicians oregon comic videos.

On 1 account, which posts videos of radical messing astir with cars and motorbikes, I click connected a communicative and up pops different app called Telegram.

On it is simply a leafage trying to merchantability drugs including cocaine and ketamine.

I americium shocked that this contented is truthful readily available, adjacent though I acceptable up this relationship posing arsenic a child.

Snapchat said utilizing its level to bargain oregon merchantability drugs was amerciable and it proactively moderates contented to observe and forestall immoderate dealing.

I cognize these gangs bash not conscionable usage societal media to merchantability their drugs - they besides enlistee children.

Anna, not her existent name, who is successful her 20s, was exploited and controlled by an Eastern European drugs pack successful southbound Wales arsenic a teenager.

She got sucked into that acheronian satellite aft a person petition connected Snapchat from a young antheral she met connected a nighttime out.

"He would beryllium rather romantic, rather flirty and conscionable shown a monolithic involvement successful me," Anna told me. "We'd connection 24/7."

Anna thought she was getting into a relationship. She saw a man, not overmuch older than herself, taking an involvement successful her.

But helium had different ideas and saw Anna arsenic young, susceptible and ripe for exploitation.

"The much I would beryllium around, the much I would assistance with the cause dealing," she said.

"It was a spot scary astatine first, but I benignant of realised that I didn't look similar your emblematic cause trader truthful I could get distant with it a spot easier."

Anna felt similar she was doing a favour for idiosyncratic who cared astir her, but she soon realised she was being used.

"I thought that this idiosyncratic was my boyfriend," she added.

"Then I would spot messages from different girls oregon him messaging different girls.

"It was heart-breaking due to the fact that helium was the lone idiosyncratic I had to crook to."

The pack utilized fearfulness to power and manipulate Anna and they plied her with drugs - but it came astatine a cost.

"We would conscionable thrust astir and they would beryllium cause dealing and we'd conscionable beryllium listening to large music," she said.

"They had a footwear afloat of drugs. They would conscionable accidental conscionable enactment your manus successful the container and instrumentality immoderate you privation out."

It's the question astir each genitor worries astir the most. Just however harmless is your kid online and connected societal media?

BBC Wales Investigates explores your children's information successful Snaptrap: Is your kid safe? connected 24 July connected BBC One Wales and connected BBC iPlayer

Anna believed she was being fixed the drugs for escaped - but that was not the case.

"They gave maine an ultimatum which was 'you present beryllium america a indebtedness for each these escaped drugs that you've used'," Anna said.

"They said 'now you person 2 choices - you tin either assistance america cause woody and gain the wealth backmost for america oregon you tin bash intersexual favours'."

Anna felt trapped by a indebtedness that she'd ne'er beryllium capable to wage off.

"I chose the enactment that I thought was going to onshore maine successful the slightest occupation with the constabulary - the intersexual favours," she said.

It was societal media that pulled Anna into the gang's orbit. I wanted to spot if the aforesaid mightiness hap connected my fake account.

Soon aft mounting up Mia's account, Snapchat started to suggest "quick adds" who I mightiness privation to marque friends with.

I started adding them astatine random, and Snapchat suggested much and more.

Some of those suggested friends appeared to beryllium cause dealers - perpetually posting pictures of the drugs they assertion to beryllium selling.

What does this accidental astir Snapchat's algorithm? It thinks I americium 15, but it is connecting maine to imaginable criminals.

One of my suggested friends adjacent seemed to assertion helium was portion of a pack transporting drugs from London to Swansea.

He started to connection maine - saying helium was connected the lookout for a "loyal girl".

When I said I lived successful Wales, helium seemed peculiarly interested.

But gangs are connected the lookout for fake accounts similar mine.

He asked to spot a representation of maine - which is intolerable without blowing my cover.

This happened again and again during my investigation. Is this however gangs cheque kids retired and marque definite they were arsenic young and susceptible arsenic they said?

Snapchat said buying oregon selling drugs connected its level was illegal.

"We enactment successful aggregate ways to observe and forestall this contented to assistance support our assemblage safe, including proactive detection exertion and in-app reporting tools," it said.

"We person a dedicated squad that supports constabulary investigations and conscionable regularly with experts to recognize drug-related trends, terminology and behaviours utilized by gangs."

Snapchat said it had "extra protections for younger users to marque it harder for them to beryllium contacted by radical they don't know".

Tom, not his existent name, utilized to enactment for gangs successful Cardiff and was faced with the interaction of grooming erstwhile helium was forced to prime up the teenagers they'd targeted.

"At the commencement they were similar 21, 20 past that got down to 17 oregon 16," Tom said.

"I was successful fearfulness of my beingness the full time. I couldn't spot a mode out."

Tom entered the satellite of organised transgression by helping gangs from bigger cities similar London and Birmingham to found themselves connected his location turf of Cardiff - successful instrumentality for escaped drugs - arsenic portion of a strategy called County Lines.

He took maine to a fashionable residential country of Cardiff adjacent the metropolis centre wherever helium utilized to operate.

"This country is afloat of drugs," helium told maine arsenic we drove astir Roath showing maine wherever the traphouses - places wherever radical bargain and merchantability drugs - were.

"Areas astir the metropolis centre are afloat of gangs, not from this city, operating and selling drugs from cars, from flats to gorgeous five-bedroom houses. It's everywhere."

I'm funny astir the country Tom showed maine circular - Roath - and truthful I determine to trial retired the app that I was redirected to erstwhile I archetypal acceptable up my Snapchat relationship - Telegram.

Telegram's "people nearby" diagnostic said radical each astir maine were selling drugs. There was idiosyncratic selling MDMA, ketamine, meth and adjacent heroin lone 400m away.

Telegram said it "actively moderates harmful content' and added: "Moderators proactively show nationalist groups and channels and judge idiosyncratic reports successful bid to region contented that breaches our presumption of service."

Dealers are not adjacent trying to fell their accounts. They are truthful casual to find I deliberation children could travel crossed them accidentally.

There are estimated to beryllium much than 500 of these County Lines gangs operating crossed the UK.

The Metropolitan Police has a specializer squad dedicated to tackling these cause gangs and claims to person unopen down astir 1,500 of these networks since 2019, moving with 26 constabulary forces crossed the UK.

Detectives accidental they person unopen down 122 cause lines and prosecuted much than 700 radical successful the past year.

"It's a occupation that traverses the full of the UK really," said Det Ch Insp Dan Mitchel.

"The mean property of the individuals prosecuted is 25 and two-thirds of the clip they've been antecedently convicted of cause proviso truthful they're often embedded successful criminality.

"What they thin to bash is usage children to tally their drugs lines for them and we spot children taking up a relation astatine the precise forefront wherever they're transporting the drugs from London."

South Wales Police said it arrested 29 radical successful caller operations successful Swansea, Neath and London to tackle County Lines gangs - seizing "significant quantities" of ace cocaine, heroin and cash.

Anna yet escaped the gang's clutches aft going underground connected societal media but admitted she would "never halt looking implicit her shoulder."

Tom feels "sorry, blameworthy and ashamed" for his portion successful ruining children's lives for being portion of a gang.

But helium said: "I was conscionable a pawn and I was utilized from time one."

His ain pack nightmare changed 1 time by a sound astatine the doorway that ended with him successful prison.

"When I seen [sic] the police, it was conscionable relief, I conscionable knew that was my mode out."