Drug smuggling

Colombia’s narcotics smuggling is going hi-tech with drone deliveries

The world’s largest producer of cocaine is reportedly using unmanned aerial vehicles to transport drugs to Panama. On Nov. 15, Colombian authorities confiscated one such vehicle, which they suspect was being used to ferry small shipments of cocaine from a jungle region in Colombia to the neighboring country.
The police uncovered 130 kilos (286 pounds) of cocaine, as well as parts of an aircraft (which were ready to be assembled) buried in the sand near the town of Bahía Solano on Colombia’s northwest coast, General Jose Acevedo told Panama’s english language daily El Siglo (link in Spanish). “The drone was used to carry cocaine to Panama, it had the capacity to transport 10 kilograms (22 pounds) per journey and it traveled a 100 kilometer (62 mile) distance,” Acevedo said.
The regional police commander attributed the drugs to criminal group Clan del Golfo, or “Gulf Clan.” The gang of 1,200 to 5,000 men primarily functions as a drug trafficking group.