The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is investigating a drug trafficking incident where a tiny DJI Mini 2 drone was used to smuggle 259g of meth – 10g more than the drone’s own weight – across the US border.
A search warrant released recently provides more details into the incident that occurred on October 7, 2021.
According to the affidavit, a US Border Patrol Agent assigned to California’s Tecate border received a radio dispatch around 8:40 a.m. that a drone had been spotted flying over the 25-foot-high US-Mexico international boundary fence. As the agent went to investigate, he saw the drone hovering over a nearby parking lot before ascending to the ground into an open lot.
Within moments, a gray Mercedes with California license plates entered the nearly empty parking lot and pulled up right next to the drone. The agent intervened and picked up the drone, only to discover an attached bundle whose contents later tested positive for methamphetamine.
While the Mercedes driver has claimed that he was hired to pick up something from the parking lot and take it to Los Angeles, the DEA has now turned its attention toward the drone that did not appear in the FAA registration database.
Among other things, the DEA wants to search the DJI Mini 2 for flight logs, telemetry data, data regarding distances between the drone and the operator, and any photos or videos the drone may have taken. It’s not clear from the warrant whether DJI has been approached to share information about the operator.
Read more: Second guilty plea in New Jersey prison contraband drone drop scheme
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