Unlike most other Grindr users, 55-year-old New York City resident Harold Gondrez Jr. apparently used the social network for more nefarious means, as an unnamed police source said his profile was flagged for “coded language that the undercover officer recognized as a possible advertisement for drugs.” As a result, undercover officers were able to contact Gondrez through Grindr and have him sell them over half an ounce of methamphetamine three times between June 20 and July 12, according to court documents.
Eventually, police had more than enough evidence to raid his Stuyvesant Town apartment and arrest Gondrez. In the apartment, police reportedly found a “large quantity” of meth and cocaine packaged for sale, with five small baggies of cocaine, seven bags of meth, five pipes with residue, and $4,000 in cash, with some extra cash found stashed in a couch.
As a result of the raid, Gondrez was formally charged with two counts of drug sales and two counts of drug possession. Gondrez was released without bail the day of his arrest, but is due in court on September 14.
This is not the first occurrence of authorities using social media to track down criminals. On Tuesday, July 26, Brazilian authorities thwarted potential terrorist attacks planned for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro by having Facebook and Twitter cooperate with investigators, though both companies were ordered by a judge to do so. Along those lines, top executives from the likes of Google, Facebook, and Twitter met with White House officials to talk about how to stop extremist groups from using social media to spread their messages.
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