Mexican Drug Lords Use Drones to Deliver Drugs

Drug smugglers are upping their game by using the newest technologies to aid them in getting drugs across the Mexico/U.S. border. In an effort to continue with business as usual, Mexican drug lords have begun using drones in order to deliver the goods.

This became apparent last Tuesday when a drone carrying packages of methamphetamine crashed near the U.S. and Mexico border.

A small unmanned aerial vehicle was discovered by police after receiving an anonymous phone call to report the incident. The downed drone was located in the parking lot of a shopping mall in the Mexican border town of Tijuana. Six packages of meth, weighing more than six pounds, were attached to it. It remains unclear where the drone had come from as well as where it was traveling to.

According to local police, the drone was a Spreading Wings 900 model, which is worth $1400. This model has six propellers and can fly for up to 18 minutes, according to the manufacturer’s website.

Most likely, the drone crashed because it was could not sustain the weight of the drugs and fell to the ground with too much weight.

Mexican Drug Lords Use Drones to Deliver Drugs

In a Facebook post, Mexican authorities said that criminals are trying different strategies and techniques to transport illegal goods to different neighborhoods, and the use of “blind mules” such as drones is one of these ever-evolving strategies.

In fact, drone technology is not really a new tactic for smuggling drugs in this region of the world. Since 2012, it’s been estimated that more than 150 drones have been used to carry cocaine and other narcotics over the border, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency. There are also reports that cartel members are beginning to make their own drones as there is an explosion of industry when it comes to drugs all along the border towns of Mexico.

In the past, Mexican drug lords have used a variety of methods to transport drugs, including huge underground tunnel networks between the U.S. and Mexico. Over time the tunnels have become more and more sophisticated, equipped with air vents, lighting and an electric rail system. If drone technology heads the same way, authorities might have a bigger problem on their hands.

In 2013, one of the most sophisticated drug-smuggling tunnels that connected Tijuana, Mexico, to San Diego, was discovered by U.S. authorities.

The tunnel was 35 feet long and about four feet high and three feet wide. It was equipped with lighting, ventilation and an electric rail system.

At the time, U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy called the passage a “super tunnel” built by architects and engineers.

“The discovery of today’s tunnel, which we call a super tunnel is the fifth super tunnel we have intercepted since 2010, and tunnel, like those we found in November 2011 were built by engineers and architects.”

Authorities seized 8 1/2 tons of marijuana and 327 pounds of cocaine in connection with the discovery.

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