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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Warning over net cannabis pushers Lucy Adams The Herald, Glasgow Tuesday 23 Dec 2003 SENIOR police officers last night warned that drug dealers have started selling cannabis over the internet to customers in Scotland. Experts say it is the latest in a line of hi-tech schemes by criminals to make use of the global reaches of the world wide web. The warnings came after three people were arrested in England on suspicion of selling cannabis online. Strathclyde police are inves-tigating two cases of Scots ordering cannabis from websites based abroad for it to be posted to the UK. There are concerns that drug dealers will make increasing use of the internet as a means to advertise and traffic drugs because more than 30 million people have internet access in the UK. Yesterday a 37-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman, from Hertfordshire, and a 35-year-old man from Brighton were being interviewed by police after their computers were seized. It is thought to be the first known arrests of alleged dealers selling and advertising drugs online in the UK. Officers are now analysing the suspects' computers to trace customers. It is not yet known if any of them are from Scotland. Those arrested are suspected of setting up password-protected websites which allowed specific customers access to order cannabis online. Once customers had placed an order, the drugs were sent out by post. The websites have now been shut down. It is thought that approximately £500,000 passed through the suspects' bank accounts, which have now been frozen. This new trend has raised concerns for parents whose children have access to the internet. Earlier this month the son of Lucy Irvine, the Castaway author, was expelled from school after being posted seven grammes of cannabis. David Irvine, 18, said he ordered the drug after meeting a dealer through an internet chat room. Detective Sergeant Charlie Cairns, from the internet crime unit at Strathclyde police, warned that people should be cautious about the emerging trend of online dealing. "We have had recent reports of drugs being sold on the internet and have passed information to Interpol because we discovered it was not being sourced in the UK," he said. "Dealers come up with all sorts of means of selling the stuff but ultimately they have to post it out. "The internet is a global information tool but unfortunately many wish to use it for the wrong reasons. Criminals are always looking for new ways to make money." Detective Superintendent Mick Deats, deputy head of the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), said: "Whether drugs are being sold on a street corner or over the internet, we are committed to work together in the battle against drug trafficking. "These arrests show that, with a little co-ordination, we can remove these people from the market, on or offline." From Hertfordshire Constabulary, Matt Cornish, investigating officer, said: "During this unique investigation we established that large sums of money had gone through several bank accounts. With the expertise and assistance of the NHTCU we were able to fully investigate this crime and collate enough evidence to make today's arrests. "We believe that this is the first case of its kind in the country and all the investigation team have been amazed by the amount of activity that these sites have had and the quantity of orders placed."
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