July 30, 2025 • 11 mins
A convicted drug dealer who used Facebook to sell MDMA, LSD and cannabis recently revealed to the Herald how 'easy' it was to sell illegal drugs online.
One caller joined the Afternoons team to clear up the misconceptions around buying drugs online and explained the process was a little more complicated than knowing pages to look for.
John joined the Afternoons team to discuss the realities of the drug market in the digital age.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks B follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Very good afternoon to you. Some great texts coming through
on how easy it is to buy drugs on social media.
Great story in the Herald saying that it is incredibly common.
This text is my whole life. Guys. Cannabis has been
a grubby illegal drug. So it's a real mind flip
in twenty twenty five to be holding a container of
cannabis flower that sees medicine.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Stop being so pathetic and alarmist. Who cares where people
get their drugs? If you enjoy a class, that's your business.
The easier the better. I still at the cash I
still get the cash out of the money machine. It's dodgy.
As my accountant keeps asking why all three hundred buck withdrawals.
Sorry I botched the reading of that.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
But that is I mean, that's a party person right there.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yeah, so as this person right that, you know, people
are buying drugs. They always have by bought drugs. People
are just freaking out now because it's on Facebook. Is
that any worse than someone getting cash out and meeting
a dealer on the street House as it just this
it's just a new way people are doing it, and
someone saying they do it on Tinder as well, So yeah,
you know, is it really are we just being pathetic
(01:21):
and alarmist? John, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Follows a.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Very good thank you.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Hey. So I think there's a pit of confusion. So
it's not as easy as as you're apts kind of.
It's not just jump on Marketplace and you'll have instant
access to the market of a llegal that's on. They
run Missing John groups, so you've got to get vouched
(01:53):
to these groups and then that's when you'll have access
to anything anything you want.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Right, So like a WhatsApp group or a Facebook message group.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
That's like that's like they say, it's a quick but
I can guarantee that the police do monitor. But that's
that's totally If you've got a friend that's already on this,
on one of these pages make there's hundreds of them,
you can get anything like like you said, you can
(02:24):
get we cocaine with guns, tases, man, you can even
you can even get like shoppers. They call them chopper pages.
So you you send them your list and people go
and they get shopping for you at half the price.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Any shopping for what anything, or.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
For like food, like people call them, people call them
meat runs. So they'll say like I want like five
lands ten roasts and that they they'll they'll go do
the run and it'll be like the value of Yeah,
they'll be like a value of say a thousand dollars
and then they'll go for four hundred and then maybe
(03:08):
on the job. How do you people just how.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Do you get vouched into the situation? How do you
get invited into one of these these sort of threads, these.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Chats, So just one of one of your friends just say, like,
just say, like I followers, I find new us quite well,
and I was part of it. I could say, can
I add Matt blah blah blah into this group? I
dot for him, and then the admin will go up
to sweep and then they'll just the log is in
and then man's about in. Yeah, and you just go
(03:40):
You could just okay shopping whatever you need. But like
I said, you know the class is that's that's easy. Yes,
you get the convenience of someone just dropping it off
street to your front door.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Right, because how is it delivered and how do you
work work how the conditions of delivery worked out, because
imagine that's that that's the biggest risk for people that
are selling it as that point of delivery.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Yeah, and then that's where it comes down to a
bit of trust. And I've known individuals that only work
off certain people online where they've they've gained a bit
of trust online and they'll only use them as their supplies.
So what they'll do is that they'll just meet up,
say down at the gas station or at the supermarket
in the car park, and yeah, just do the transaction now.
(04:26):
And but you kind of gain trust over over time
if you're continuously using I said, an individual, you know,
And that's all it comes down to is just building
their trust with the individual. And the funny thing is
is that these pages have kind of driven the market down.
In the weed game, people used to pay three fifty
(04:47):
four to fifty got to a point where it's like
up to five hundred dollars for an ounce. Man, now
you're picking it up for like two hundred bucks, you know. Easy.
You can pick up a pound the weed easy. Yeah.
It's just so yeah, But as I said, I think
that's yeah, I think that's where the confusion is. What
the herald is that this guy that's been convicted saying
(05:07):
it's face book, he's just relating these message of groups
with Facebook. Obviously they're work side by side. Say that's
where the confusion is. But yeah, so.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
How do you know John that it's not going to
be cut with something that if you're going for something
like cocaine or n dm A, that you're getting a
product that is not going to have some fillers in it.
I suppose that's part of the trust situation.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Yeah, yeah, so what you you kind of see other
people giving the mob for so you can ask the question,
like you say, just say, like if Matt was like
the guy and you're just saying you're you're you're Chopper's
hand or one of the features like help trustworthy is
Matt you know, the hundred percent And then everyone is
just you're just yeah, and then you'll just see everyone
(05:53):
bumping up, you know, they're saying giving them the thumbs up, Yes,
this is good, good, good good, and then you're off
and it's have.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
You have you heard of anyone getting busted? You know,
and one of these.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Groups in all honestly, no, I haven't heard no one,
no one. I've seen I've seen guys on their page
for like years, bro, like and they're making they're making bank,
you know. And yeah, yeah, it's definitely a market you
know where it's like I said, it's as convenient as
to your front door, you know, and it's the guys
(06:26):
will be there quicker than uber. Man. You know, you
can order, you can order. You can order a pound
a week faster than what you can do a pizza.
That's how quicker as r wow. So yeah, like there's
there's any any questions you need to ask, man, I'm
I'm more than happy to tell you guys.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Man than thank you, thank you, thank you so much
for sharing. Have you hit anything around the dark web.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
That's a whole lot of mumbo jumbo. Man. You know,
I've heard, I've heard rumors, I've seen guys activated. But man,
that's only if you're looking for like like tanks and
you know, crazy crazy stuff. Man. You know, we're like
a python like like like you know, only look, it's
only a humus ever devil into that world, you know.
(07:13):
It's but like I said, man, these messenger pages man,
there it's bonkers, you know, it was, it was the
first time I've seen the shoppers picked. That was the
one that really I was like, man, that's what's going
on here, you know. But yeah, people will put up
a list, say like even like toys and stuff will close,
(07:35):
so they'll put up a list of clothes and they say,
if you can fulfill this order, we will give you
five hundred dollars.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Were you then, yeah, this is great chatting with you, John.
Would you get into trouble and whether or not you're
involved in these groups, but would you get into trouble?
You're in this group and a mate who's outside and
says to your hey, I'd really like some cannabis. So
you sort them out through the group and you take
a little bit of a cut from him. Would that
get you in the in trouble with the group?
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Yeah, it's literally as long as the main guy gets
those whose you know, lion's share of the building. Whatever
you do on the side, that's entirely up to yourself,
you know. But nine times out of ten men and
is so cheap you really don't need to You really
don't need to add an extra fifty and it's not
(08:25):
really worth it, you know. Yeah, doing that extra fifty dollars.
You know, it's just it's kind of just accepting the
price for what it is, you know. And like I said,
you know, the market as royal low at the moment
for especially wheaed man. Yes, there's so much out there,
there's Yeah, there's just so much out there. The market
(08:47):
is as pumping at the moment, and people are lining
up to benefit of the of the cheap weed that's
sitting up there. Like you're not going to go to
somewhere where you're going to pay three hundred and fifty
where you can get the exact same quality for two
hundred dollars, you know. Yeah, that's just how the market is.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Absolutely. But say you're in the script and you're talking
about there there's a bit of shoplifting in there. There's
there's a bit of cannabis in there. If someone comes
in with something that's outrageous, is it limits to it?
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Is it?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
You know, as you say, you know, the python on
the dark. But if something if you're in one of
these chats and someone says I want to buy an
automatic rifle, you know, is that is that?
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Is that?
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Is that?
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Just like this is this isn't the this isn't one
that this isn't one of the chats about Sorry.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
No, it's definitely not from the pomp. That's that's something
that is. That's it's normal. They do handguns. I know
your teaser situation pretty well. How how they get it
into New Zealand. They get them ship straight to your house.
That's the funny thing here. Like you, you hear all
these stories about the New Zealand police potentially being on
(09:56):
top of what these people are doing. But man, I've
seen it. I've witnessed it happened, and I've seen it.
Not just one teaser. I've seen someone by like fifty
in one job. Yeah, that's it's it's just so easy,
you know. But like I said, it comes down to
being vouched into these pages. And then once you get
(10:20):
vouched and you you you you get you get put
forward to every other page that gets opened. So someone
opens up a new page, they will take your your
your handle over to the new pages, so on and
so on and so on, and then you're constantly getting
added to all these different Facebook please Messinger groups.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
So fascinating to chat with you. Thank you very much
for giving us a buzz and giving us some insight.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
Yeah, that's us just uh yeah, that's the guy that's
being convicted. Just opened it up to the new deal
and neural budget and was ring up to you.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Thank you very much, good fellows. Yeah you have a
good afternoon.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
Man.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
For more from us Talks a B listen live on
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks B follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Very good afternoon to you. Some great texts coming through
on how easy it is to buy drugs on social media.
Great story in the Herald saying that it is incredibly common.
This text is my whole life. Guys. Cannabis has been
a grubby illegal drug. So it's a real mind flip
in twenty twenty five to be holding a container of
cannabis flower that sees medicine.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Stop being so pathetic and alarmist. Who cares where people
get their drugs? If you enjoy a class, that's your business.
The easier the better. I still at the cash I
still get the cash out of the money machine. It's dodgy.
As my accountant keeps asking why all three hundred buck withdrawals.
Sorry I botched the reading of that.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
But that is I mean, that's a party person right there.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Yeah, so as this person right that, you know, people
are buying drugs. They always have by bought drugs. People
are just freaking out now because it's on Facebook. Is
that any worse than someone getting cash out and meeting
a dealer on the street House as it just this
it's just a new way people are doing it, and
someone saying they do it on Tinder as well, So yeah,
you know, is it really are we just being pathetic
(01:21):
and alarmist? John, Welcome to the show.
Speaker 4 (01:25):
Follows a.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Very good thank you.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Hey. So I think there's a pit of confusion. So
it's not as easy as as you're apts kind of.
It's not just jump on Marketplace and you'll have instant
access to the market of a llegal that's on. They
run Missing John groups, so you've got to get vouched
(01:53):
to these groups and then that's when you'll have access
to anything anything you want.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Right, So like a WhatsApp group or a Facebook message group.
Speaker 4 (02:03):
That's like that's like they say, it's a quick but
I can guarantee that the police do monitor. But that's
that's totally If you've got a friend that's already on this,
on one of these pages make there's hundreds of them,
you can get anything like like you said, you can
(02:24):
get we cocaine with guns, tases, man, you can even
you can even get like shoppers. They call them chopper pages.
So you you send them your list and people go
and they get shopping for you at half the price.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Any shopping for what anything, or.
Speaker 4 (02:48):
For like food, like people call them, people call them
meat runs. So they'll say like I want like five
lands ten roasts and that they they'll they'll go do
the run and it'll be like the value of Yeah,
they'll be like a value of say a thousand dollars
and then they'll go for four hundred and then maybe
(03:08):
on the job. How do you people just how.
Speaker 3 (03:10):
Do you get vouched into the situation? How do you
get invited into one of these these sort of threads, these.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
Chats, So just one of one of your friends just say, like,
just say, like I followers, I find new us quite well,
and I was part of it. I could say, can
I add Matt blah blah blah into this group? I
dot for him, and then the admin will go up
to sweep and then they'll just the log is in
and then man's about in. Yeah, and you just go
(03:40):
You could just okay shopping whatever you need. But like
I said, you know the class is that's that's easy. Yes,
you get the convenience of someone just dropping it off
street to your front door.
Speaker 3 (03:52):
Right, because how is it delivered and how do you
work work how the conditions of delivery worked out, because
imagine that's that that's the biggest risk for people that
are selling it as that point of delivery.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Yeah, and then that's where it comes down to a
bit of trust. And I've known individuals that only work
off certain people online where they've they've gained a bit
of trust online and they'll only use them as their supplies.
So what they'll do is that they'll just meet up,
say down at the gas station or at the supermarket
in the car park, and yeah, just do the transaction now.
(04:26):
And but you kind of gain trust over over time
if you're continuously using I said, an individual, you know,
And that's all it comes down to is just building
their trust with the individual. And the funny thing is
is that these pages have kind of driven the market down.
In the weed game, people used to pay three fifty
(04:47):
four to fifty got to a point where it's like
up to five hundred dollars for an ounce. Man, now
you're picking it up for like two hundred bucks, you know. Easy.
You can pick up a pound the weed easy. Yeah.
It's just so yeah, But as I said, I think
that's yeah, I think that's where the confusion is. What
the herald is that this guy that's been convicted saying
(05:07):
it's face book, he's just relating these message of groups
with Facebook. Obviously they're work side by side. Say that's
where the confusion is. But yeah, so.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
How do you know John that it's not going to
be cut with something that if you're going for something
like cocaine or n dm A, that you're getting a
product that is not going to have some fillers in it.
I suppose that's part of the trust situation.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Yeah, yeah, so what you you kind of see other
people giving the mob for so you can ask the question,
like you say, just say, like if Matt was like
the guy and you're just saying you're you're you're Chopper's
hand or one of the features like help trustworthy is
Matt you know, the hundred percent And then everyone is
just you're just yeah, and then you'll just see everyone
(05:53):
bumping up, you know, they're saying giving them the thumbs up, Yes,
this is good, good, good good, and then you're off
and it's have.
Speaker 3 (06:00):
You have you heard of anyone getting busted? You know,
and one of these.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
Groups in all honestly, no, I haven't heard no one,
no one. I've seen I've seen guys on their page
for like years, bro, like and they're making they're making bank,
you know. And yeah, yeah, it's definitely a market you
know where it's like I said, it's as convenient as
to your front door, you know, and it's the guys
(06:26):
will be there quicker than uber. Man. You know, you
can order, you can order. You can order a pound
a week faster than what you can do a pizza.
That's how quicker as r wow. So yeah, like there's
there's any any questions you need to ask, man, I'm
I'm more than happy to tell you guys.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Man than thank you, thank you, thank you so much
for sharing. Have you hit anything around the dark web.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
That's a whole lot of mumbo jumbo. Man. You know,
I've heard, I've heard rumors, I've seen guys activated. But man,
that's only if you're looking for like like tanks and
you know, crazy crazy stuff. Man. You know, we're like
a python like like like you know, only look, it's
only a humus ever devil into that world, you know.
(07:13):
It's but like I said, man, these messenger pages man,
there it's bonkers, you know, it was, it was the
first time I've seen the shoppers picked. That was the
one that really I was like, man, that's what's going
on here, you know. But yeah, people will put up
a list, say like even like toys and stuff will close,
(07:35):
so they'll put up a list of clothes and they say,
if you can fulfill this order, we will give you
five hundred dollars.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Were you then, yeah, this is great chatting with you, John.
Would you get into trouble and whether or not you're
involved in these groups, but would you get into trouble?
You're in this group and a mate who's outside and
says to your hey, I'd really like some cannabis. So
you sort them out through the group and you take
a little bit of a cut from him. Would that
get you in the in trouble with the group?
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Yeah, it's literally as long as the main guy gets
those whose you know, lion's share of the building. Whatever
you do on the side, that's entirely up to yourself,
you know. But nine times out of ten men and
is so cheap you really don't need to You really
don't need to add an extra fifty and it's not
(08:25):
really worth it, you know. Yeah, doing that extra fifty dollars.
You know, it's just it's kind of just accepting the
price for what it is, you know. And like I said,
you know, the market as royal low at the moment
for especially wheaed man. Yes, there's so much out there,
there's Yeah, there's just so much out there. The market
(08:47):
is as pumping at the moment, and people are lining
up to benefit of the of the cheap weed that's
sitting up there. Like you're not going to go to
somewhere where you're going to pay three hundred and fifty
where you can get the exact same quality for two
hundred dollars, you know. Yeah, that's just how the market is.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Absolutely. But say you're in the script and you're talking
about there there's a bit of shoplifting in there. There's
there's a bit of cannabis in there. If someone comes
in with something that's outrageous, is it limits to it?
Speaker 4 (09:19):
Is it?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
You know, as you say, you know, the python on
the dark. But if something if you're in one of
these chats and someone says I want to buy an
automatic rifle, you know, is that is that?
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Is that?
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Is that?
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Just like this is this isn't the this isn't one
that this isn't one of the chats about Sorry.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
No, it's definitely not from the pomp. That's that's something
that is. That's it's normal. They do handguns. I know
your teaser situation pretty well. How how they get it
into New Zealand. They get them ship straight to your house.
That's the funny thing here. Like you, you hear all
these stories about the New Zealand police potentially being on
(09:56):
top of what these people are doing. But man, I've
seen it. I've witnessed it happened, and I've seen it.
Not just one teaser. I've seen someone by like fifty
in one job. Yeah, that's it's it's just so easy,
you know. But like I said, it comes down to
being vouched into these pages. And then once you get
(10:20):
vouched and you you you you get you get put
forward to every other page that gets opened. So someone
opens up a new page, they will take your your
your handle over to the new pages, so on and
so on and so on, and then you're constantly getting
added to all these different Facebook please Messinger groups.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
So fascinating to chat with you. Thank you very much
for giving us a buzz and giving us some insight.
Speaker 4 (10:50):
Yeah, that's us just uh yeah, that's the guy that's
being convicted. Just opened it up to the new deal
and neural budget and was ring up to you.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Thank you very much, good fellows. Yeah you have a
good afternoon.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
Man.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
For more from us Talks a B listen live on
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio.
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