Polite and unobtrusive. How recruiters lure into the drug business, the Prosecutor General's Office explained

Topic news May 22, MINSK . When recruiting new "staff", the organizers of online stores selling narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances often use manipulative techniques and psychological tricks. This was reported by the Main Directorate of Criminal and Judicial Supervision of the Prosecutor General's Office, BELTA reports.

According to the supervisory agency, the phenomenon of recruitment for work as stashers (couriers, "miners") in so-called drug markets has become particularly alarming. Distributors of psychoactive substances are involved in criminal activity through social networks, WhatsApp messengers,TELEGRAM , VIPole (with names like "part-time job", "fast money", "high income"), public pages on Instagram,TIKTOK , VKontakte - with "work without experience"; classifieds sites, forums, programs (Tor) and even comments under popular videos on YouTube.

Recruiting new "staff", the organizers of online stores selling narcotics and psychotropic substances often use manipulative techniques and psychological tricks, exploit financial vulnerability and naivety, promise fast and, most importantly, safe income that does not require large physical and time costs. To do this, they cite arguments about the absence of any risks.

The recruiter, as a rule, acts politely and unobtrusively: offers "simple courier delivery", "product layout", "work in logistics", "online store", avoiding the word "drugs".

When a person starts communicating with a recruiter, manipulations are used: "it's okay, no one will catch you", "you're not a dealer, you're just delivering the goods", "it's just chemistry, they can't even ban it", "we monitor safety, you're not in danger". Pressure on emotions is also often used: they promise to help with debts, praise for "courage", call you a "partner", convincing that "everything is easy" - come, put it, take a photo, leave.

Here's an example. During the trial, the accused told how a fatal offer he received via the Telegram messenger became the beginning of an irreversible chain of events. On March 16, 2024 , he received a message in the messenger - a tempting, at first glance, opportunity to earn money by dealing drugs. He was offered two options for employment: either to hand over passport information or to make a cash deposit. Initially, he refused, realizing the risk and not wanting to disclose personal information. However, after a short time, the curator got in touch again, assuring that all the formalities could be bypassed - without bail, without documents, only on the condition of "working off" the bail. The accused agreed.

On the morning of March 18, he received the exact coordinates of the cache. Heading there, he was worried, but the desire to make money quickly overcame his doubts. Having taken out a psychotropic substance intended for further packaging, he headed home and was detained on the way.

By the verdict of the COURT of the Bobruisk district and the city of Bobruisk, the young man was found guilty under Part 4 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code of illegal circulation of psychoactive substances as part of an organized group, he was sentenced to imprisonment for 12 years with a fine of Br4 thousand.

One of the strongest hooks is the promise of easy, big and fast money. Sometimes they really pay for the first tasks in order to "hook" and create a sense of security and anonymity. But then everything changes: reward payments are postponed, risky tasks are given,threats are made if there is a desire to quit "work", unconditional obedience is required - "or we'll turn you over to the police."

For example, in the spring of 2024, the girl received an offer via messenger to become a courier for a drug shop. She wanted to make some quick money. In early June, she was instructed to pick up the so-called master stash - a large batch of packaged psychotropic substances that she was supposed to hide in hiding places in Mozyr and Kalinkovichi, but her addiction to ALCOHOL slowed down the task. The untimeliness aroused the anger of the curator, and the girl began to be openly threatened with violence. She hid the prohibited cargo in a secluded place in the forest, not far from her home, hoping to get rid of the problem in this way.

Already on the evening of June 19, 2024, she learned from the police that her photographs and personal data were posted on the Internet with an offer to "punish" her for a reward for stealing psychotropic substances. Soon, law enforcement agencies discovered the hiding place and seized the prohibited substances.

The defendant could not escape criminal responsibility - the Mozyr District Court found her guilty, establishing her participation in an organized group engaged in illegal drug trafficking.

As practice shows, few of the stashers manage to earn money. A career in this "business" lasts no more than a couple of months, and sometimes just one day.