Chicago - Police in Chicago said on Thursday they
have arrested 50 people suspected of using "secret groups" on
Facebook to deal in guns and drugs, and have teamed up with the
world's largest social media network to crack down on criminal
trafficking online.
Announcing the arrests at a news conference, Police
Superintendent Eddie Johnson initially criticised Facebook as
being unhelpful during a 10-month investigation by his
department.
"Quite frankly, they haven't been very friendly to law
enforcement to prevent these things," he told reporters.
However, police later said the department and the
California-based company agreed to work collaboratively "to
target any illegal activity on the platform."
Police did not detail charges facing the 50 men and women
arrested through Thursday, but said there were "dozens and
dozens" of private Facebook groups being used for illegal drug
and weapons transactions. Arrest warrants for 18 more suspects
have been signed, and most have prior criminal histories, police
said.
Among the illicit sites monitored by police was one offering
a "Thanksgiving special" on cocaine baggies discounted to $40 (about R500) from a normal street price of $60.
In an emailed statement on Thursday, Facebook Inc,
which boasts 2 billion users worldwide, said it had only just
been alerted to the arrests in Chicago.
"We do not allow the sale of guns or drugs on our platform.
We routinely work with law enforcement and outline how officials
may submit a request on our site," Facebook added.
Among those arrested was an elementary school teacher taken
into custody at his Chicago school in possession of scales often
used for weighing drugs, according to Anthony Riccio, chief of
the police department's organized crime unit.
Since a confidential informant alerted investigators about
alleged criminal trade on Facebook in February, police
detectives working undercover arranged for the purchase of 17
different types of drugs and 18 different illegal firearms,
Riccio said.
Riccio said investigators created covert identities on
Facebook and were invited into private groups, which are closed
unless the user-administrator allows someone to join. Police
then monitored messages and contacted those in the group via
Facebook to make buys.
Chicago has been singled out by President Donald Trump as
one of the most violent US cities. In 2016, the number of
murders there exceeded 760.