Media Platforms Design TeamDrones aren’t just military devices and hobbyist passions. As it turns out, cartels are using the unmanned aerial vehicles for a pretty insidious purpose: smuggling drugs high in the sky. And some of those drones crash down, as indicated by a drone crashing near the Mexico-California border, weighed down by six pounds of crystal meth. The drone was a DJI Spreading Wings s900. Media Platforms Design TeamIn 2012, at least 150 drones were reported to make dashes for the border, drugs in tow, and they’ve also been used to smuggle drugs into prison. Drones are, currently, less traceable than, say, your typical drug mule, so it’s harder to tell who’s transporting those drugs, unless you find the recipient at the pickup sight. It’s just another way the cartels are utilizing technology to expand their trade. Source: Associated Press, via Vice, The VergeJohn WenzWriterJohn Wenz is a Popular Mechanics writer and space obsessive based in Philadelphia. He tweets @johnwenz.
