Meow Meow: Inside Russia's Mephedrone Teen Crisis - BBC World Service Documentaries

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#BBCEye gains rare access to the hidden world of Russia’s teenage mephedrone market: meeting the dealers, chemists, addicts and police battling the brutal synthetic drug market. Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM BBC Eye Investigations exposes the growing problem of mephedrone use among Russian teenagers, a synthetic drug known as “meow” or “the poor man's cocaine” - following the entire drug chain from Chinese precursors, to Russian production labs, to the lives destroyed by addiction. Technology has supercharged this crisis. Unlike in the West, where darknet drugs are typically mailed, Russia’s distribution system relies on GPS-tagged caches hidden in public spaces. These rapid, anonymous pickups allow users to access drugs within hours. Behind this system are sprawling darknet markets and encrypted Telegram channels, where vendors recruit teenagers as couriers - or “cladmen” - with promises of fast money. As law enforcement arrests thousands of these low-level runners, the system simply regenerates. 00:00 Introduction: Mephedrone in Russia 03:23 Why is mephedrone is so addictive? 05:47 Inside a rehab centre 07:51 Underage chemist on his production process 11:11 Numbers behind the crisis 13:11 From China to Russia: Dealer and ex-cop on smuggling routes 22:33 Olya: Exchanging her body for the next high 25:56 Maxim: From Russian prison to fighting in Ukraine 31:21 Olya and friends shoot up 34:45 Where are they now? 🎞️ To watch more investigative journalism from our award-winning BBC Eye investigations team, check out this documentary playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4fa8LK1lptsvoA_spfJhzda You may also be interested in these documentaries: https://youtu.be/BigN9awZC5M https://youtu.be/ANxo0gBM6GM https://youtu.be/zX9Xhnwz-Uw ---------------- This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel. If you like what we do, you can also find us here: Instagram 👉🏽 https://www.instagram.com/bbcworldservice Twitter 👉🏽 https://twitter.com/bbcworldservice Facebook 👉🏽 https://facebook.com/bbcworldservice BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio Thanks for watching and subscribing! #BBCWorldService #Documentary #OSINT #Mephedrone #AddictionRecovery #AddictionAwareness #Russia #Moscow #WarInUkraine #Documentaries #WorldService