Mexican Drug Cartels Are Using GTA V Online to Recruit Drug Runners

For years, Rockstar Games’ blockbuster title Grand Theft Auto V has come under the microscope for various controversies.

From the use of foul language to extreme depictions of violence, the game has faced criticism from many people, even though it has become one of the highest selling video games of all time.

However, after 9 years following the game’s release in 2013, Grand Theft Auto V now faces a grave issue from drug cartels in North America as law enforcement officials have found evidence of recruiters using the game to recruit players to help them in their trade.

A recent report from Forbes delved deep into the problem of real cartel members using Rockstar Games’ highly successful online title for recruiting unsuspecting youngsters to drug cartels in Mexico and the United States.

The report included details of American officials busting nearly 60kg of methamphetamine in a girl’s Jeep Cherokee. In her statement to the officials, the girl explained how she was coerced into becoming a “runner” for a guy she met on Grand Theft Auto Online.

After meeting through GTA Online, the duo conversed on Snapchat when he offered her up to $2,000 for shipping electronics to sell in Mexico. However, when the law enforcement officials inspected her car in Arizona, they found the load hidden inside the Jeep’s gas tank.

While details of the case are still hazy on how much the girl knew about the methamphetamine in her Jeep, officials have charged her with possession and conspiracy to import and sell methamphetamine.

On the other hand, Grand Theft Auto V isn’t the only method cartel members have used to coax youngsters to join their trade. In Mexico, kids playing the hit mobile title Free Fire received offers of up to $200 a week to work as lookouts for the cartel.

In a world where online video games continue to grow at a rapid pace, issues like these shine a negative light on the industry, and as most of the players are young teenagers, the lack of protection cause a massive problem as they are prone to be coerced into situations like these.

Officials in both Mexico and the United States continue to look deep into the matter as they now try to bust more cartels through GTA Online in order to save kids and youngsters from doing dangerous activities.