Dark Deliveries And Digital Smokescreens: When Online Food Delivery Apps Serve More Than A Delicious Meal!

Chapter 1- Innovation without regulation invites exploitation!

Ah, who needs those pesky trips to dark alleys or shady street corners anymore? Welcome to the new year of 21st century, where danger comes with free home, or food delivery and a tracking link! Who would’ve thought our cozy living rooms would become the new frontier of risk – all thanks to those innocent-looking smartphones sitting in our pockets?

Remember when our parents worried about their kids hanging out in suspicious neighborhoods? Now, the real adventure happens right from their comfy couches, where the scariest journey is the treacherous path from thumb to screen – a whole two or three clicks of peril! No need for mysterious handshakes or knowing the right people; just a decent internet connection and the ability to navigate a user-friendly app interface. How thoughtful of modern technology to make everything so convenient, including things we’d rather keep inconvenient!

It’s quite the plot twist, isn’t it? Here we are, installing security systems and triple-bolting our doors, while the real threat slips right through our WiFi router. Our homes – those supposed fortresses of safety – have transformed into potential hotspots of risk, all because someone decided to make everything, and I mean everything, available at the tap of a screen. The below article explores more about how technology has transformed traditional risk landscapes in unexpected ways?

In two concerning incident from the winters of last year, an Uber Eats delivery driver in the United States made a startling discovery – over 20 grams of marijuana disguised as a burrito during what was supposed to be a routine food delivery. While social media users joked about this ‘special delivery,’ the incident highlights a troubling pattern of food delivery platforms being exploited for drug trafficking. 

The problem extends beyond Western countries to ours, where food delivery behemoths like Zomato have come under lenses of public for questionable practices involving “one-dish restaurants” displaying deceptive menu listings, prompting worries about possible unlawful activities. Social media users on a chilly day of November 2024 smelled some suspicious activity of ‘one dish restaurants’ with exorbitant prices listed at Zomato, and vented their anxieties on various social media platforms. 

The above incident serves as an example of how delivery platforms can be misused, though Zomato later clarified that the company identified the restaurants as potentially fraudulent and delisted them from the platform. Zomato also investigated other restaurants with limited menus and may have listed prohibited items. The company admitted that some listings were able to bypass their fraud checks by using generic food names. 

The tale of drug delivery through food delivery apps.

Covid had transformed the ways human live and connect. Online delivery companies that were used for online delivery of merchandise in pre-pandemic era has now shifted to various domains, and this phenomena increases the risk of use of such platforms for sale of illegal goods. Complete lockdowns have sharply spiked demand for home delivered meals and delivery drivers are a common sight on otherwise deserted streets. The simplicity of these apps, which are used majorly by young cohorts puts even more light about their misuse paving the way towards the occurrence of a national tragedy.

In April 2020, An Interpol alert warned that criminal organizations were using food delivery services to move drugs and other illicit goods as countries lock down during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Interpol issued a ‘purple notice’ alerting its 194 member countries of the new modus operandi.

Drug peddlers take the undue advantage of the unregulated food delivery industry.

How criminal enterprises had adapted and responded to the extraordinary social impacts of Covid-19 taking advantage of drugs being delivered directly to front doors. This seems like organised crime groups had been “very adaptive and clever” in the use of the “unregulated food delivery industry” because there’s a lot of app food delivery drivers coming to people’s doors, and it’s a largely unregulated industry at the moment. 

A similar such case happened in Australia in 2021 where it was reported by the authorities that ‘exploitation was made easier with limited measures in place to track and identify the courier, and delivery content as well as the lack of certification of food delivery workers’. In that case, the food delivery companies blatantly denied the allegations that the industry was exploited for drug dealing. Atleast, in this case, Zomato accepted its mistake!

How does tech innovation without regulation invite exploitation?

Throughout the globe, technology has played a mixed role in the drug market. As the pandemic catalysed a major increase in drug usage worldwide, as per the World Drug Report 2021 by the UNODC, buyers and sellers soon overcame initial lockdown rules. Advances in communication technology, e-commerce, quick commerce, and digital payments like UPI have made it easier to expand operations and bypass the law.

Chapter 2- The new avatar of Bribe- The PR machinery.

Nov 18 2024- Social media users expressed confusion over strange Zomato listings in Chandigarh featuring ‘one-dish restaurants’ with odd names and high prices.

Nov 20, 2024- Zomato CEO Mr Deepinder Goyal tweeted that he is looking for a Chief of Staff – but only if the candidate was willing to pay ₹20 lakh for the position. Later, another tweet followed where he explained how the ₹20 lakh was a joke. 

Is this coincidence?

Mr Goyal and the Zomato PR team knew that the news of sale of illicit drugs via the food delivery app can impact Zomato’s share value. Hence, this emerges like the PR team of Zomato fastened its belts, entered into the brainstorming mode and finally devised an idea that will distract the consumer’s attention. And yes, they succeeded.

Zomato’s illegal sale of drugs tweet got 701k impressions, whereas Mr Goyal’s posts got over 15M impressions. That’s the power of personal branding, which definitely is no way wrong! However, the ethical use of personal branding is a point of debate!

This can remind one of the earlier case in which Elon Musk tweeted ‘Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.’ The SEC had to step in, but Musk leveraged the media storm to increase attention for Tesla’s ambitions. It was not about the stock price, but about the message and momentum. Although the deal never came close to happening, and  the tweet resulted in a $40 million settlement with securities regulators.

This draws attention to the notion that while personal branding can be effective, it is critical to balance it with honest activities. A personal brand should represent worth, not simply brilliant movements. Turning the tide without an authentic brand is like trying to surf without water…no matter how skilled you are, you’ll just fall flat. Otherwise, one risks becoming the wizard behind the curtain, and no one wants to see the magic, only the illusion. However, Deepinder and Musk pulled it off because their foundations were rock solid. It’s a reminder that clever moves might grab attention, but consistent value keeps the crowd coming back.