OMAHA, Neb. (KSNB) – As students prepare to head back to school, federal drug enforcement agents are warning parents about the hidden threat of drug trafficking occurring directly on teenagers’ smartphones.
According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Omaha Field Division, drug traffickers are increasingly using social media platforms to market deadly drugs through public posts and disappearing stories.
Dealers often use specific code words and emojis to connect with prospective buyers. Once contact is made, the transactions quickly shift to encrypted communication apps like WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram, with payments processed through standard mobile apps.
With an estimated 95% of American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 having access to a smartphone, the DEA recently launched a new video series titled “Hidden on Your Kid’s Phone” to help parents spot these red flags.
“Parents should monitor who their kids are engaging with,” Travis Ocken, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for the DEA, said. “Be able to have visibility whether their kids are using a cell phone, tablet or computer. That’s number one. Who are they talking to? Then, number two, you start looking at the content of these conversations.”
Ocken stresses that parents shouldn’t hesitate to investigate further if they see something suspicious.
“If for a parent, you’re reading a conversation and you just don’t quite understand it or the conversation doesn’t really make sense, don’t be afraid to have those conversations with your children and ask them the questions,” Ocken added.
The warning series is designed to give caregivers actionable ideas and indicators of what to look for when evaluating social media activity.
“It also gives them an idea of what to look for. What are those indicators?” Ocken said. “What are those things they need to be concerned about when they’re seeing social media content, who they’re engaging with or the type of conversation. It just is an opportunity for parents to go view these videos just to get some ideas and be able to speak to their kids.”
The warning comes as fentanyl trends shift in the region. Across the five-state DEA Omaha Field Division, which covers Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, agents seized more than 67,000 fentanyl pills in the first seven months of 2026. While pill numbers are down compared to previous years, fentanyl powder seizures have surged by nearly 87% compared to this time last year.
Combined, the pill and powder seizures represent more than four million lethal doses removed from regional communities this year.
“Social media is just another avenue that drug dealers are using to push counterfeit pills and other poisons to a new generation,” Dustin Gillespie, DEA Omaha Field Division Special Agent in Charge, said. “Stay on top of your kids’ phone. It’s not bad parenting; it’s a potentially life-saving measure.”
Families can find the educational videos and download parent fact sheets online at GetSmartAboutDrugs.gov/Hidden and dea.gov/onepill.
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