Criminal Drone News Stories - Drone News from Around the World

In the right hands, drones offer an unprecedented ability to gather real-time data from difficult locations. They can inspect facilities that are otherwise impossible to reach. 

In the wrong hands, drones can be your worst nightmare. As soon as new technology emerges, it seems there are bad actors finding ways to utilize it for their own underhanded and often criminal purposes.

Effective drone detection services can identify drones in real-time as they break regulations so you can take appropriate action. Here are just a few criminal drone news stories that may have been prevented with the latest drone detection equipment. 

Smuggling Contraband

Individuals and organized gangs have been caught using drones to transport drugs and weapons into prisons over international borders. 

• In 2015, two men were caught using a drone to smuggle 28 pounds of heroin across the border from Mexico into California in 2015.
• A man was apprehended attempting to smuggle marijuana into a Georgia State Prison in 2018. 
• In 2020, two men were arrested for multiple drone deliveries of tobacco, cell phones, steroids, marijuana, syringes, and cell phone equipment into the federal prison at Fort Dix.
• Multiple criminals have been arrested for using drones to smuggle cocaine, marijuana, phones, and other drugs into several prisons in the UK.

Flights in Restricted Space

The Federal Aviation Administration has the authority to limit or prohibit flights over sensitive areas in the US, such as military installations and high-risk areas on a temporary or permanent basis, with similar agency regulations in other countries. While these areas are carefully marked on aeronautical charts, the printed designations mean nothing to those who fly an illicit drone into such territory. 

• A Florida man was arrested for flying a drone into the temporarily restricted airspace around the venue for Super Bowl LIV in 2020. 
• Two Oregon men are charged with flying a drone in national defense airspace during civil disorder events. 
• A man was charged after he crashed a drone on the White House lawn in 2015. 

Surveillance and Voyeurism

Surveillance by a drone can be a powerful, low-risk approach for law enforcement and military uses. Unfortunately, the qualities that make drones such an effective tool on the right side of the law are the same ones that make them a valuable component of many criminal acts.

• Drones have been used to case properties in planning burglaries, including in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, and multiple states such as Texas and California.
• Criminals have used drones to surveil members of law enforcement at work, including spying on border patrol agents and even to flush out agents performing surveillance on criminals.
• Private citizens are also vulnerable to unwanted viewers, such as the neighbors of a Utah couple who used a drone to capture images of people in their bedrooms and bathrooms.

Weaponized Drones

While various iterations of unmanned drones have been part of many military arsenals for decades, the rise of consumer-grade drones available to the general public has brought the opportunity for individuals to use them as weapons.

• In Pennsylvania, a man used a drone to drop homemade bombs near his ex-girlfriend's home
• Drug cartels in Mexico have used C4 and shrapnel laden drones as well as drones carrying explosives to attack officials and other gangs.

Unsafe Drone Flights

Because it is easy for anyone to purchase and fly a drone and very difficult to enforce drone flying regulations, collisions and near-misses are frequent occurrences. 

• A California man was charged when his drone collided with a police helicopter, forcing an emergency landing.
• A Canadian runner was injured during a race when a drone was flown unsafely and crashed on top of her.
• A drone nearly collided with an Austrian emergency helicopter, forcing it to take evasive action with an injured patient inside.

One of the best ways to reduce the likelihood of crimes or dangerous acts with drones is to prevent them from happening in the first place by detecting them before they can cause harm. At Aerial Armor, our goal is to provide robust, effective drone detection to enhance your existing safety and security measures. 

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We provide layered solutions combining the DJI AeroScope with superior drone detection radar, thermal cameras and the best drone detection software.

Contact us today to learn more about how our drone detection systems can work for you.