March 16 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors in Virginia are

probing whether Facebook-parent Meta's social media

platforms facilitated and profited from the illegal sale of

drugs, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing

documents and people familiar with the matter.

The prosecutors sent subpoenas last year and have been

asking questions as part of a criminal grand jury probe, the

report said, adding that they have also been requesting records

related to drug content or illicit sale of drugs via Meta's

platforms.

The Food and Drug Administration has also been helping with

the investigation, the newspaper added. It noted that

investigations do not always lead to charges of wrongdoing.

The paper quoted a spokesman for Meta as saying in a

statement: "The sale of illicit drugs is against our policies

and we work to find and remove this content from our services".

"Meta proactively cooperates with law enforcement

authorities to help combat the sale and distribution of illicit

drugs," he added.

The prosecutors' office and a spokeswoman for the FDA

declined to comment to WSJ.

Meta, the FDA and the Virginia Attorney General's office did

not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

Meta's president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, said on

social media platform X on Friday that Meta had joined up with

the U.S. State Department, the United Nations Office on Drugs

and Crime and Snapchat to help disrupt the sale of synthetic

drugs online and educate users about the associated risks.