Berlin police are warning the public about the city’s drug dealers’ newest ploy. Free samples of cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine, hashish and 3-MMC along with the dealer’s contact details are being found in letterboxes across the city. Often, these free samples are wrapped meticulously in sweet packet wrappers. To the unassuming eye, the wrappers are indistinguishable from the ones they’re imitating.
The police have put extra emphasis on parents of young children to be vigilant, as the disguised drugs naturally “appeal primarily to children.” The problem is becoming increasingly difficult for the authorities to tackle. Police officers are legally prohibited from enticing anyone to commit a crime, so simply ordering these drugs is not an option.
Having previously used QR codes, which are still being plastered to the front of doors to make easy first contact with people, and moving on from the business cards that were passed around in bars and cafés, this latest tactic seems like the most blatant. Is this tactic a display of wealth, to be able to give free samples at mass, or are dealers resorting to extreme marketing schemes for lack of profit?
