Drone carrying drugs crashes south of the US border
A drone loaded with packages containing crystal methamphetamine crash-landed just south of the U.S. border city of San Ysidro, California this week, lending an inside look as to the new methods being employed by drug cartels to smuggle drugs across from Mexico, “The drone had packages taped to it and was covered with plastic bags containing the drug known as crystal”, the local police chief said. SEE ALSO: Brazil leads the way on global commercial drone boom Officials said that the six-propeller Spreading Wings S900 drone was unable to support the weight of the cargo and crashed Tuesday night in a supermarket parking lot in Tijuana. “I would hate to belittle six pounds of meth,” DEA Special Agent Matt Barden tells CNN. “That’s like saying six pounds of heroin isn’t bad … but I think the big thing to look at is the fact that the cartels or drug traffickers from Mexico are using drones in their playbook. “My greater fear, being an agent, is what a drone means to officer safety. That to me, personally, being a tactical officer, that’s my concern.” Barden added, “In San Diego, the street value, at last account, for a 6-pound load would be about $48,000. Once you get it across the border, that stuff’s like gold.” Are drug-carrying drones the future of smuggling? This isn’t the first time police have seen drones used to transport drugs and American authorities are not worried of drug-carrying drones because dont seem to be a cost-effective way. “The cartels have been using drones for surveillance. Transporting drugs is a bit more complicated,” Sylvia Longmire, a leading drug war analyst, said to CNN. “This is further evidence that the cartels have unlimited funds and creativity.” Drones that are used to carry drugs over the border are referred as blind mules, says the Tijuana Public Safety Secretariat. This recent incident is under investigation, but no arrests have been made. SEE ALSO: Drone testing at six US airports selected by FAAThe post Drone carrying drugs crashes south of the US border appeared first on Voxxi.
A drone loaded with packages containing crystal methamphetamine crash-landed just south of the U.S. border city of San Ysidro, California this week, lending an inside look as to the new methods being employed by drug cartels to smuggle drugs across from Mexico,
“The drone had packages taped to it and was covered with plastic bags containing the drug known as crystal”, the local police chief said.
SEE ALSO: Brazil leads the way on global commercial drone boom
Officials said that the six-propeller Spreading Wings S900 drone was unable to support the weight of the cargo and crashed Tuesday night in a supermarket parking lot in Tijuana.
“I would hate to belittle six pounds of meth,” DEA Special Agent Matt Barden tells CNN. “That’s like saying six pounds of heroin isn’t bad … but I think the big thing to look at is the fact that the cartels or drug traffickers from Mexico are using drones in their playbook.
“My greater fear, being an agent, is what a drone means to officer safety. That to me, personally, being a tactical officer, that’s my concern.” Barden added, “In San Diego, the street value, at last account, for a 6-pound load would be about $48,000. Once you get it across the border, that stuff’s like gold.”
Are drug-carrying drones the future of smuggling?
This isn’t the first time police have seen drones used to transport drugs and American authorities are not worried of drug-carrying drones because dont seem to be a cost-effective way.
“The cartels have been using drones for surveillance. Transporting drugs is a bit more complicated,” Sylvia Longmire, a leading drug war analyst, said to CNN. “This is further evidence that the cartels have unlimited funds and creativity.”
Drones that are used to carry drugs over the border are referred as blind mules, says the Tijuana Public Safety Secretariat. This recent incident is under investigation, but no arrests have been made.
SEE ALSO: Drone testing at six US airports selected by FAA
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The post Drone carrying drugs crashes south of the US border appeared first on Voxxi.
