Peddlers using Grindr, Chennai police commissioner seeks ban

CHENNAI: City Police Commissioner A Arun has written to authorities to suspend/ban Grindr, a social networking and dating app for LGBTQ persons, citing drug suppliers are using the app as a marketplace to reach out to potential peddlers and customers.

He said investigations into synthetic drug networks have repeatedly pointed to the app. It is apparently the medium through which suppliers reach out to peddlers as well as customers, he added.

The Greater Chennai Police have written to the CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team), the nodal agency that deals with cyber security-related incidents, seeking to police the global mobile app.

"In five out of ten narcotics cases, we have noticed the app being used as a medium of communication with potential clients," a senior police officer said.

In November 2024, the city police had arrested one of their own, a constable, for allegedly working in cahoots with a meth supplying network. The probe into the case revealed that those in the network targeted the users of Grindr, a same-sex dating app, to sell the drug.