A recent undercover police operation called “Swipe Left for Meth,” where authorities used dating apps such as Grindr to catch drug dealers, resulted in over 60 arrests.
The Polk County, Florida Sheriff’s Office announced the results of its six-month-long undercover operation on Thursday. In addition to making the arrests, the sheriff’s office said that it also recovered 14 firearms and seized several grams of narcotics, including methamphetamine, cocaine, ecstasy, fentanyl/heroin, LSD, psychedelic mushrooms and marijuana.
“The drug sales transactions all took place on three different social media and dating mobile apps: Grindr, Scruff, and Taimi. Grindr was the app with more drug sales than the other apps mentioned,” the Polk County Sheriff’s office said in a press release.
According to the sheriff’s office, the undercover operation began in July 2021, when officials received a tip from Heartland Crime Stoppers that people were using the dating app, Grindr, to illegally sell drugs.
After receiving the tip, investigators with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office created undercover profiles on Grindr and the other dating apps listed, “and found it relatively easy to strike up conversations with those who were selling [drugs].”
“It was clear during the conversations and ensuing undercover drug buys that the suspects’ primary purposes for being on the dating app were to sell drugs – not to find a date,” the sheriff’s office press release said.
“Suspects are getting more creative, but so are our detectives. We’re working with these mobile app companies to raise awareness, and asking for their cooperation during our investigations,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in the press release. “The good news is, we found that some who were on the dating app were reporting illegal drug sales when it became apparent to them, and the mobile app companies were banning some suspects attempting to sell drugs. When we find drug dealers, we put them in jail.”
During a press conference on Thursday, Judd said that the suspects were “openly advertising” the drugs they were selling on the dating apps. Judd also said that his office has filed criminal charges against 68 different people. Sixty of those suspects have already been arrested, but eight others remain at large.
According to the sheriff’s office, 159 felony and 72 misdemeanor charges were brought against the suspects during the undercover operation.
“Altogether, the suspects have 908 previous charges, including 453 prior felonies and 455 prior misdemeanors. Eleven of the suspects told detectives they receive government assistance,” the sheriff’s office said in the press release.
During the press conference, Judd showed off one of the firearms seized during the undercover operation and criticized those who referred to the arrests as “low level, nonviolent” criminals.
Newsweek reached out to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for further comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
