According to Raul Koppelmaa, head of the narcotics division of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board's (ETCB) investigation department, with the growth of internet commerce, ordering various prohibited substances by mail has also increased year by year.
“When ordering goods from abroad, you have to be sure that it is allowed. For example, certain substances that can be purchased only as a prescription drug in Estonia may not be ordered from abroad without a prescription. The ETCB regularly monitors cross-border trade and increasingly detects prohibited substances in shipments, which leads to criminal proceedings for the customer," Koppelmaa said.
This year 171 criminal cases have been initiated, of which 40 relate to various psychotropic drugs, and 184 misdemeanour proceedings have been initiated, of which 10 have been related with ordering psychotropic substances. Modafinil, armodafinil, diazepam, tramodol and clonazepam are primarily ordered and the quantities are around 30-100 tablets on average.
“Ignorance of the law is no excuse, so before ordering, if you have the slightest doubt, you must check that it is not a prohibited substance,” Koppelmaa recommends.
The campaign “Substances by mail? Consider the penalty.” began in 22 November, when stickers with QR codes, which briefly asked "Substances by post?", were pasted in various sports clubs, educational institutions and on parcel machines. Scanning the QR code takes you to the ETCB’s website, where you can find out which substances need more attention when ordering by mail and which you absolutely must not order. A wider advertising and information campaign will follow the teaser campaign, the aim of which is to reach a wider target group and make people think that it is not worth ruining their future with one postal parcel.
The following are not allowed to be sent or ordered in postal and courier shipments:
- narcotic and psychotropic substances
- medicinal products containing these substances
- advanced therapy medicinal products, which do not have a license for use in Estonia
- smokeless tobacco products such as e-liquids, disposable e-cigarettes, snus
- weapons and ammunition
- tear gas and nerve gas cylinders
- toxic substances
Check out the comprehensive list here (in Estonian)
As of 5 December, nearly 3,900 people have already scanned the QR code intended as an advance notification. According to Koppelmaa, the aim was to arouse interest in the target group and to encourage them to become better acquainted with prohibited substances. “The QR code stickers were intended as teasers to bring the necessary information directly to the target group. We only counted the number of scans and did not collect any personal data. The article on the ETCB’s website warning against ordering prohibited substances, together with explanatory and important information, hopefully made some people abandon their plans of ordering prohibited substances," adds Koppelmaa.
University of Tartu, Tallinn University, Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Tallinn University of Applied Sciences, Tallinn School of Construction and Ida-Virumaa Vocational Education Centre joined the campaign. The stickers also attracted a lot of attention in sports clubs MyFitness and Gym! and on DPD and Itella parcel machines. Find more information on which substances are not allowed to be ordered by mail from the website of the Tax and Customs Board (in Estonian).
