Telegram Becoming Drug Dealing Marketplace of Choice in Argentina

The use of Telegram as a sales and communication platform for drugs has spread across Argentina, and Telegram-enabled crimes have increased by 350% in the last two years.

Carlos Timo Brito, a policy specialist at Brazil’s ministry of justice and an international relations professor at Centro Universitário de Brasília, told InSight Crime that the companies’ domiciled location may play a role.

“Perhaps the big difference, in the case of the control of illicit activities, is the ownership and legal domicile of each of these platforms. Telegram is owned by Russian nationals and domiciled in the British Virgin Islands. WhatsApp is owned by an American citizen and is legally domiciled in the United States, as is [another messaging service] Wickr. In this context, perhaps WhatsApp and Wickr have greater control potential than Telegram because they are based in the US and can probably be subject to greater legal and enforcement scrutiny than platforms hosted elsewhere,” said Brito.

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