WINTER HAVEN -- A new twist on drug dealing leads to charges for 68 people in central Florida.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says they were using dating apps to sell street drugs. "They were openly advertising, they were selling drugs on dating apps!" Judd said. "They had code words like Tina (for meth)." Emojis, such as ice cream cones and birthday cakes, also signaled buyers to swipe left. Meth being the most popular drug, but others included cocaine, Ecstasy, fentanyl and heroin.
Judd says they also discovered firearms, two of which were stolen, that he says the suspects were using to guard their stashes.
All in all, Judd says 156 felony and 71 misdemeanor charges were filed.
60 of the suspects are in custody and eight others are still at large.
The investigation began in July of last year, when deputies got a tip from Crime Stoppers about sales on the app Grindr. According to Judd, the Scruff and Taimi apps were also used to make drug sales.
"When they're brazen enough to sell drugs on an app that anyone, including children, can have access to, it's a problem," Judd says.
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