‘Unfortunately, I was the drug mule in that situation': Drugs transported via ride share

Ride-share companies have become a way of life — used to transport everything from people to packages around town.

"I basically have three jobs, my third being Uber, and just trying to save up money," said Adam who drives for Uber a few times a week around the D.C. region.

News4 agreed not to use his last name because he’s concerned about his safety after what happened to him in December.

He got a pickup request via Uber’s Connect service, which started up early in the pandemic to help transport things like care packages and gifts to people. When he pulled up to an apartment complex off Suitland Parkway in Southeast D.C.

"The gentleman went to my back door and placed a loosely tied bag in the back of my car,” Adam said.

But while Adam drove to the delivery address, the bag started flying around, he said. So, he called the customer back to make sure there was something inside.

"And he said yeah it's in there," Adam said.

According to Uber’s website, there’s a list of items that aren’t allowed to be delivered, such as alcohol, weapons and drugs — whether pharmaceutical, over-the-counter or recreational.

When Adam looked closer at the bag in his back seat, he got nervous.

"I could see through the bag and what looked like to be drugs. Um, it looked like loosely packed pills," he said.

Those pills he just picked up turned out to be oxycodone, he said.

"Unfortunately, I was the drug mule in that situation," Adam said.

While it's difficult to know how often drugs are being transported through ride shares, there's plenty of chatter about it online. The I-Team found reports of similar cases in other cities, including Chicago and Tampa. And in Arizona, a mother said her 22-year-old daughter died after overdosing on fentanyl delivered via Uber Connect.

But sometimes, ride-share drivers are not innocent bystanders, investigators said. Two Virginia men were charged in D.C., accused of using ride-share services to sell cocaine. 

"We allege that the person wasn't just a unknowing delivery person, that they were actually actively involved,” U.S. Attorney Matt Graves told the I-Team.

While packages delivered by the U.S. Postal Service and other companies are randomly inspected, Uber Connect does not.

"My first action was to throw them out and then call Uber to let them know what was happening," said Adam.

That made an already stressful situation even worse, he said.

“Uber took too long to answer,” Adam said. “They didn't know who I should speak to. They kept bouncing me around to different individuals. And while I was on hold with Uber, the guy called me four times."

Adam said he also got mixed messages from the company. One text apologized for his experience and said he wouldn't be paired with the customer again. Another message noted Adam needed to return the items because the customer had complained.

The I-Team asked Uber about Adam’s experience.

“We are committed to the safety of Uber drivers and delivery people,” a spokesperson said. “Using Uber for illegal activity is expressly prohibited and may result in losing access to the platform. We have a global investigations team that aims to identify suspected crime on the platform, take action against accounts connected to illegal activity and work with law enforcement on their investigations.”

Uber said drivers can decline a request to pick up or cancel a delivery if they feel unsafe and that it won't count against them. A company spokesperson said Adam was not penalized for not completing the delivery.

D.C. police said any person who discovers suspicious items should immediately call 911 and not make contact with the materials.

Adam said he did call police, too, but since he had dumped the drugs, they didn't take a report.

Going forward, he's changing course.

"I just drive people,” he said. “I don't I don't do the package thing anymore."

Reported by Tracee Wilkins, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited by Steve Jones and Jeff Piper.