Illegal drugs trade goes digital for pandemic

FILE PHOTO: An undated handout photo from Zollfahndungsamt Hamburg, made available on February 24, 2021, shows cocaine found in over 1,700 tins of wall filler after German authorities seized more than 16 tonnes of cocaine in the northern port city of Hamburg, in Europe's largest cocaine haul to date. Zollfahndungsamt Hamburg/Handout via Reuters

LISBON (Reuters) - Like supermarkets, restaurants and purveyors of sourdough bread, the illegal drugs trade went digital to serve its customers during lockdown, and could stay that way when the COVID-19 pandemic is over, Europe's drugs agency said on Wednesday.

"The pandemic is pushing drug criminals online, reinforcing a trend," said the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson during the online launch of the 2021 drugs report put together by the Lisbon-based agency EMCDDA.