'It's like on Amazon': Illegal drugs advertised online, delivered by Canada Post

It’s like Amazon for hard drugs: cocaine, heroin and ecstasy, paid for with credit cards and e-transfers, delivered by Canada Post. 

For weeks, CBC Ottawa and Radio-Canada exchanged messages with nearly a dozen people who have been buying these drugs online. Eventually one came forward, offering to talk about their experience.

"The first time I was like, OK, it’s not true, it’s a scam," John said. CBC has agreed to withhold his real name because he fears the impact of his drug use on his family and his job. 

"You go on the website and it’s very easy."

We started seeing ads offering pure cocaine pop up on Facebook and Instagram, with images of white powder. Pretty soon our social media feeds were flooded with them.

These narcotics are highly addictive and highly illegal, but the ads reassure potential buyers that the drugs are tested and safely delivered.

For John, it meant a drug he had been addicted to in the past was suddenly within easy reach. 

"My relationship with this drug [is] love-hate," he said. "I had a dream about many things. The cocaine in a certain way destroyed this dream. One of these dreams was to become a cop."

John says he had successfully kicked his addiction — until he saw the ads on social media.

"So you have this ad, it looks professional. You go on the website and it’s very easy. It's like on Amazon. You have many drugs, and you have cocaine,” he said. “I was like, it's unbelievable to see this on social media."

Despite John’s skepticism, as the ads increasingly populated his feed, old habits got the better of him. He clicked on an ad and ordered a few grams of cocaine. 

Pretty soon he had a Canada Post tracking number. Days later he received a message that his package had arrived.

"I go to the mailbox. I opened the package and I was like, OK, it's real. It's real stuff, it's real cocaine," he said. 

John tried the drug right away and says it felt pure.