TECH

California couple thought drug dealing with a drone would be discreet
Authorities say a couple in California incorporated some modern technology into their drug-trafficking operation - finding out later that a machine buzzing across the sky might not be more discreet than a person walking down the street.Last week, Benjamin Baldassarre, 39, and Ashley Carroll, 31, were arrested in Riverside, Calif., For allegedly selling illegal drugs using a drone. They were also charged with keeping a minor at risk after police discovered a nine-year-old girl living in his home.According to a Facebook post from the Riverside Police Department, narcotics police officers were guarding the couple's neighborhood "when they watched a drone leave the backyard of a residence," then "flying into a nearby parking lot and dropping a small package of narcotics, which was recovered by waiting customers. " To pay for the drugs, "customers would then drive to the couple's home and drop payment on the backyard grass," the Associated Press reports. I'm no contraband specialist, but this seems like a missed opportunity to put the money in the drone.It is not difficult to understand the rationale behind the unloading of drugs by means of a machine: anonymity. But a piece of metal buzzing through the heavens is not something completely discreet, especially if it regularly follows the same path. What is also not discreet: people throwing money in front of their house.Regardless, people continue to incorporate small flying machines into their smuggling operations. Often, with the intention of reaching inaccessible places, such as across borders and within prisons. Although millions of drones were only manufactured in 2017, it's still a sight to see them up there. And until the sky is full of them, maybe they are not the best idea to avoid suspicion.




Melaine Ehrenkranz