According to John Lindström, a police officer in Stockholm's troubled area of Rinkeby, which is known for its propensity for violent crime, there are hundreds of accounts being circulated among Stockholm youth. Lindström noted that this shady business has grown significantly in recent years.
"You can definitely see an increase. Previously, it was more on Facebook, now, it's on Instagram," John Lindström told SVT. He also stressed that the awareness among the young people has also risen. "I would say that in every community or gang there is someone who knows about this," he added.
"If we somehow were to gain access to all of these, we would need huge resources, which we do not have today," says John Lindström.
In a field experiment, conducted by SVT, high school students tested how fast they could buy liquor on Instagram. It did not take long before the deal was successfully carried out in Solna, another Stockholm suburb.
"I don't think there's anyone who wants to buy alcohol and can't get it," high school student Erik told SVT.
"Instagram prohibits the marketing and sale of illegal content, including illegal drugs. Our team reviews notifications and deletes content that violates our policy, and in some cases, accounts are closed," Instagram wrote in a commentary to SVT.
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