Spain’s Tweeters bust drugs gangs

THE news that more than 800 arrests linked to drug trafficking have been made through information gleaned on Twitter shows that the use of social media is now an effective police tool.
In just two and-a-half years a campaign asking for information has had 35,000 tip-offs from its 1.66 million Twitter followers.
Using the hashtag #tweetredada, the Spanish National Police urges people to report any suspected drugs transactions, large or small, anywhere in Spain. There is also a dedicated email account, antidroga@police.es for the same purpose.
Police say the information sent to both Twitter and the email account is kept strictly confidential and no user has to identify themselves. Once received, the tip offs are assessed by a team from the Central Narcotics Unit to decide whether to investigate further.
In the latest triumph for the campaign, a suspected drug-trafficking gang based in Barcelona and Cadiz was broken up, with 5,000 kilos of hashish and 27 cars seized. Police say that in the investigation, which started in Spring 2013, they were given vitally important anonymous tip offs. The police Tweeted their thanks to all their users.