TikTok and Instagram Influencer Under Fire for Promoting Illegal Cannabis Operations in the UK
An Albanian influencer has sparked controversy by showcasing his cannabis farms on social media and providing advice on illegal entry into the UK. Kozak Braci, who has amassed over a million followers on TikTok and Instagram, often flaunts his drug operations, claiming to earn up to £6,000 a month from cannabis sales, as reported by the Daily Express.
Former Metropolitan Police officer and now consultant Graham Wettone criticized these videos for glorifying drug production. “This glorifies the production of drugs in the UK to people from outside [Britain], enticing people to come and make a lot of money,” Wettone stated, highlighting the challenges faced by law enforcement.
Danila Buci, a 21-year-old student from Tirana, expressed concerns over the influence of such content on the youth, including her 16-year-old sister, who sees peers emulating Braci’s criminal activities.
When confronted by journalists, Braci, from a housing block in Tirana, claimed he made £25,000 a month through his social media presence. He insisted that the videos showcasing UK drug production were “not popular” and that he was moving away from such content. He explained initial naivety about live-streaming requests, adding, “You can’t be 100 percent sure that these persons were in England, maybe they were in the USA.”
Dr. Alexandros K. Antoniou, a senior lecturer at the University of Essex and an expert in social media law, expressed astonishment that Instagram allowed Braci to become Albania’s top star after sharing such content. He noted that social media platforms have generally been lax about hosting potentially illegal content.
Responding to the controversy, a Meta spokesperson emphasized that the buying, selling, or soliciting of drugs is prohibited on their platforms. They outlined the efforts made to remove such content through technology and human review and mentioned collaborations with police and youth organizations to improve detection.
A TikTok spokesman reiterated the platform’s zero-tolerance policy towards human exploitation, stating that they proactively remove over 95% of content violating these rules.