BRAZEN drug dealers in Barrow are continuing to advertise highs on social media site Instagram, despite the platform pledging a crackdown.

Accounts selling illegal substances in the town could be found with a simple search - but have now been removed from the photo-sharing website after being flagged by The Mail. 

Earlier this year, an investigation by this newspaper found that drug dealers had flooded the social media site with accounts to advertise their illegal businesses.

Using the platform as a shopfront, sellers would direct people to an anonymous messaging app to organise a sale, the probe found.

More accounts have now been found to be advertising illegal substances undetected.

They have now been removed by Instagram's parent company Meta for breaking its rules.

A Meta spokesman said: “The buying and selling of drugs is not allowed on our platform and we’ve removed the accounts brought to our attention. 

"We work closely with the police to keep drug sales off our platform and partnered with FRANK to support adults and young people struggling with substance abuse.

"Now, when anyone searches for drug-related terms on Instagram, we show a message offering help.”   

The company promises that it proactively removes nearly all drug-related content from Instagram using a mix of technology and human review.

Earlier this year, Barrow's MP Simon Fell raised The Mail's findings to then-home secretary Priti Patel in Parliament.

He said: "My local paper, The Mail, ran an exposé of how they went on to various social media platforms and very easily accessed people selling class A drugs online.

"It didn’t even require much of a search to get there.

"This is a clear breach of the law and I am surprised they are able to do so."

She said platforms had a 'moral duty' to work with the authorities to stamp out crime otherwise they are 'sheltering criminal behaviour'.

As new accounts were found and removed, Mr Fell said: "Removing accounts like this is not only the right thing to do, but it will also soon be the law.

"The online safety Bill will mean that if social media companies do not meet the standards of removing illegal content then they will face fines of up to 10 per cent of their revenues.

"For Meta that would amount to millions for each time they look the other way.

"They have to get their houses in order, and soon."