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Drug-Smuggling Drone Crashes Near The US-Mexico Border
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Drug-Smuggling Drone Crashes Near The US-Mexico Border
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Drug-Smuggling Drone Crashes Near The US-Mexico Border

Trending News: Drone Packed With Crystal Meth Crashes Near US-Mexico Border

Why Is This Important?

The hottest new tech can be used to commit crime as well as fight it.


Long Story Short

Mexican authorities have found a crashed drone that was attempting to carry six pounds of methamphetamine across the U.S. border. The aircraft was picked up in a Tijuana parking lot and is evidence of a growing trend among smugglers to make use of these remote-controlled devices.



Long Story

Whenever a new kind of technology emerges, you can be sure it's going to be used for purposes both good and bad: Mexican police have confirmed that a drone smuggling crystal meth across the border with the U.S. has crashed under the weight of its own illicit package. The remote-controlled device was carrying more than six pounds of crystal meth when it dropped from the skies.

Tijuana police spokesman Jorge Morrua told the Associated Press?that this is far from the first time that drones have been used to try and sneak drugs over the border. According to Morrua, enterprising criminals are also using catapults, ultra-light aircraft and tunnels to try and get their products into the United States.

In the last couple of years, improvements in the hardware technology have meant that lightweight, remote controlled drones are both practical and inexpensive for the first time. That's good news for anyone interested in aerial photography as well as anyone who needs to sneak illegal goods from one spot to another without attracting attention.

The Mexican police say they are still investigating where the craft originated from — it came down in a supermarket parking lot near the San Ysidro crossing where Mexico meets California.

Last April, a crashed drone was discovered outside a prison in South Carolina, carrying mobile phones, marijuana and tobacco. However, the same advantages that make drones attractive to smugglers of all types can be utilized by the police as well: Authorities are currently using the autonomous aircraft to keep watch on 900 miles (1,450 km) of the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the BBC.?

In the years to come, the battle for control of these boundaries could primarily be fought by flying robots.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question: How do you stop a tiny, robotic smuggler?

Disrupt Your Feed: Law enforcement agencies are in a never-ending struggle to stay one step ahead of the criminals in the technology arms race.

Drop This Fact: DEA sources say that at least 150 attempts to smuggle drugs into the U.S. via drones were recorded in 2012.
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