Drones are an accessible, convenient, and cost-effective way to gather data from aerial viewpoints. Although these technological advancements have been used for many advantageous activities like locating burgeoning wildfires and inspecting bridges for safety, they are also used for nefarious activities. Even the most nobly manufactured drones can be used for disastrous activities when they fly over unauthorized air spaces. Drone detection and tracking system can combat these issues and offer robust protection for sensitive or vulnerable locations. To make people aware of the damage drones can cause, here are several news stories about drone crimes that may have been turned otherwise with effective safety measures.
Drones for smuggling contraband
Organized gangs and individuals, have been detected making use of unmanned aerial vehicles to transport illegal weapons and substances into correctional facilities, even crossing international borders to do so.
Two men were detained after using a drone to smuggle 28 pounds of heroin from Mexico to California in an incident that happened in 2015. In 2018, a different individual was apprehended while trying to sneak marijuana into a Georgia state prison. Authorities detained two people in 2020 for using drones to carry many illegal items into the federal prison at Fort Dix, including cigarettes, cell phones, marijuana, steroids, needles, and cell phone equipment. Several offenders have been caught in the US for utilising drones to transport contraband into various jails, including drugs like marijuana, cocaine, phones, and other unlawful materials.
Drones flying in restricted airspace
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has the authority to temporarily or permanently restrict or forbid aircraft over high-risk areas, and other sensitive areas in the United States. Similar laws are implemented by national agencies in other nations. Even though these zones are precisely marked on aeronautical charts, anyone flying an unauthorized drone into them will not understand the no-trespassing zones, until they see the aeronautical charts.
A Florida individual was detained in 2020 for flying a drone in violation of the temporally restricted airspace around the Super Bowl LIV venue. Similar to this, two Oregonians were charged with using a drone in national defence airspace while there was civil turmoil. In 2015, a man was also charged with allegedly flying a drone into the White House lawn.
Weaponized drones
Numerous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been included in inventories for several years. However, the introduction of consumer-grade drones to the public has opened up the potential for people to use them as weapons. In Pennsylvania, a person used a drone to detonate homemade explosives close to the home of his ex-partner. Mexican drug cartels have used C4 and shrapnel-filled drones, as well as UAVs carrying explosives, to attack law enforcement and other rival groups.
The bottom line
Undoubtedly in the right hands, drones offer the unprecedented ability for real-time data collection in hard-to-reach locations. However, in the wrong hands, drones can be a nightmare. As new drone technologies evolve, anti-drone countermeasures and solutions like drone jammer systems and anti-drone guns can be helpful. These news stories about drone crimes are just a scratch on the surface, a lot worse can happen to the aerial premises of establishments that don't invest in anti-drone solutions.