Have you ever seen those Instagram and TikTok pages that show photographs of fake passports, money, and drugs? Well, it turns out they’re not all bots. In fact, many of these accounts are run by drug dealers – and many of those drug dealers are kids.
Yes. Youngsters are selling drugs online – including deadly fentanyl pills. Here’s just one story:
A North Carolina man, 23-year-old Axel Rodriguez, also known by the alias “Flash,” has been sentenced to 144 months in prison for using Instagram to sell fentanyl. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced his sentencing following an investigation that uncovered his involvement in distributing more than 700 grams of fentanyl and 3.6 grams of heroin. Rodriguez pled guilty to charges of conspiracy and trafficking on April 25.
Rodriguez reportedly utilized Instagram to advertise and sell drugs, frequently posting images and references to large quantities of fentanyl pills on his account. According to a press release, posts included slang references such as “K packs,” shorthand for 1,000 pills. One post featured an image of a pill with the caption, “For ya granny,” trivializing the dangerous nature of the substances he was selling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJH4ff6wWAM
In addition to promoting drug sales, investigators discovered Instagram posts from Rodriguez that showed firearms and apparent gang affiliations. According to authorities, Rodriguez also attempted to intimidate a potential government witness. While in custody, he directed an associate to post a picture of the suspected informant alongside photos of sealed court documents and the image of a rat—a widely recognized symbol for an informant.
Rodriguez’s drug operation involved obtaining thousands of fentanyl pills at a time, which he then distributed in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area. The FBI, which conducted multiple controlled purchases during the investigation, found him selling blue pills marked “M-30,” a common counterfeit of prescription drugs like OxyContin and Percocet. One such purchase on March 13, 2023, involved an FBI detective buying 25 pills from Rodriguez, who had four firearms in his vehicle at the time of the transaction. Laboratory testing later confirmed that the pills were laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid responsible for a growing number of overdose deaths across the U.S.
In a separate incident in April 2023, Rodriguez was observed purchasing 8,000 fentanyl pills. That same day, he was found with four firearms inside a townhouse where he was storing the drugs. The quantity of fentanyl and the presence of weapons underscored the scale and danger of his operation.
Following the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Michael Easley expressed concerns about the increasing use of social media by drug traffickers. “Drug traffickers are increasingly pushing deadly fake pills through social media,” Easley said. “They’ve learned they don’t need to stand on street corners when they can reach kids on their smartphones. Counterfeit OxyContin, Percocet, and Xanax sold on social media are driving addiction and overdose death.”
The growing threat of drug trafficking through social media platforms like Instagram has become a major concern for law enforcement agencies. A 2022 report from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned of the pervasive use of social media in facilitating drug sales. The report revealed that, in 2021, the DEA had investigated over 80 cases in which social media platforms were used for drug trafficking. The report emphasized that with the rise of smartphones and internet apps, “criminal drug networks are now in every home and school in America.”
Rodriguez’s case is part of a broader trend where social media is increasingly being leveraged to facilitate drug distribution, making deadly substances like fentanyl more accessible to vulnerable populations, including teenagers. The case highlights the need for increased awareness of the dangers posed by counterfeit pills sold online, as well as greater vigilance by social media companies in curbing illegal activity on their platforms.