Decoding drug codes
Emojis have gained popularity with young adults as an easy form of conversation . Over the last five years , emoji use has significantly increased . 7 A single symbol can encapsulate a word or an activity . If one wanted to alert folks to “ Grab your favorite t-shirts now ! Big sale happening ― shop today and enjoy fast delivery !” they would use these emojis
. Each emoji represents a word or action . One can see how criminals can leverage emojis as a quick substitute for words or slang . 8
Emoji drug code 9 , 10
▪ Meth : ( Blue Heart , Diamond or Test Tube )
▪ Heroin : ( Brown Heart or Dragon )
▪ Cocaine : ( Snowflake or Cloud Snowing )
▪ MDMA ( Ecstasy ): ( Red Heart , Lightning Bolt , Red X or Pill )
▪ Mushrooms : ( Mushroom )
▪ Cough Syrup : ( Grape , Baby Bottle or Purple Heart )
▪ Marijuana : Clover )
( Wind , Flame , Palm Tree , Christmas Tree or Four Leaf
▪ Adderall : ( Pill or A-train )
▪ Xanax : ( Pill , Chocolate Bar , Bus )
▪ Percocet and Oxycodone : or Honeypot )
( Pill , Parking Sign , Banana , Blue Circle
Dealer messages
▪ Drug delivery needed : ( Parachute and Box )
▪ Packaged arrived : ( Box and Parachute )
▪ Drug deal in progress : ( Pill and Handshake )
▪ Drug price : ( Ticket )
▪ Money laundering needed : Money Bag )
( Dollar Bill , Money Mouth Face , Crown or
A variety of payment platforms are utilizing emojis to customize transfers . 11 In doing so , they may attract the use of emojis to communicate illicit activity . Subsequently , the analytical techniques used in social media can be extended to payment transactions where emojis are present . Still , as law enforcement ( LE ) agencies and the public gain insights into the symbols , criminals may change these symbols .
ACAMS Today | March – May 2025 27