Brazilians Used Orkut as Drug Distribution Network

Brazilian police arrested 10 people on Thursday accused of selling drugs using Google’s international social networking site Orkut, which is hugely popular in the Latin American country.

“We discovered the drug ring first via authorized phone tapping, and later the investigation included monitoring of their activities on the Internet,” said a duty officer at the Drugs Enforcement Service in the city of Niteroi, just across the bay from Rio de Janeiro.

“We’ve nabbed 10 so far, but there may be more,” he added. The ring distributed mainly ecstasy and marijuana.

Part of Orkut’s allure is its exclusivity—one can only join at the invitation of another member. The site is named after Google software engineer Orkut Buyukkokten.

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