Crosstown Drug Traffic

By london_euan Last edited 230 months ago
Crosstown Drug Traffic

cocaine.jpgA quick TV tip for this evenings viewing is the BBCs Drugland showing on BBC2 at 9pm.

Apparently it's "an inside look at an industry that employs 20,000 people in London", no, not the Sale Sign holding industry (though that is long overdue an expose), it's the drugs industry.

The BBC write up is at pains to point out that drug dealers are now catching up to legitimate retail industries in their method of ordering and delivery, and seems to be one banner ad with a phone number away from being an advertorial, it's positive publicity most high street retailers would kill for.

One dealer points out "I'm like Pizza Hut and Dominoes - guaranteed delivery in 30 minutes. Whatever hour it is I'm awake, if I hear the phone ringing I'll answer it. I'm a 24-hour pharmacy."

The Londonist would like to point out that if this claim is true, the dealer isn't "like" Pizza Hut and Dominoes, he's "better".

About 45 minutes better with more agreeable trading hours, and if he threw in some chicken wings a drug dependency would be a small price to pay for that kind of service.

We give it about 2 weeks before the Evening Standard do one of their product comparison pieces:

Supplier A

Pros: Although English was not his first language the dealer was pleasant and was able to accommodate our last minute request of another gram for our mate Steve.

Cons: Ford Fiesta looked out of place and his use of urban street lingo was confusing.

Rating: Experimental Teen.

Supplier B:

Pros: Speedy Delivery, Caucasian delivery person so non-threatening and he didn’t want to chat. Bag had logo so extra points for presentation.

Cons: Poor quality, talked at least 40% more bollocks than usual, and for a Standard journalist that's a lot.

Rating: Marketing Account Manager.

Supplier C:

Pros: Scooter with generic takeaway design, dealer gossiped about celebrity clients so we can impress work colleagues/internet forum users, didn't make us feel the slightest bit seedy.

Cons: Dealer had much trendier trainers than us.

Rating: Children’s TV Presenter.

Last Updated 04 January 2005