Drug-loaded drone crashes in Mexican border city

Mexico City, Jan 23 (IANS/EFE) A drone laden with methamphetamine crashed into a supermarket parking lot in the Mexican city of Tijuana, just metres from the US border, officials said.

The remote-controlled aircraft fell to the ground due to the weight of its load -- six packets wrapped in transparent plastic and containing approximately three kgs of crystal meth, Tijuana's public safety secretariat said in a statement Wednesday.

An anonymous citizen alerted the authorities, who said it was the first time they had detected a drone being used for drug smuggling, after it fell in Tijuana's Rio (River) district Tuesday night.

Municipal police arrived at the scene and found the silver and black aircraft, a Spreading Wings S900 aerial photography drone with six propellers and a lithium battery that is sold by a company known as DJI, based in Shenzhen, China.

Police also found the packages of drugs, which the smugglers attached to the drone using black adhesive tape.

No arrests have yet been made, according to the secretariat, which said police seized the drone and turned it over to the relevant authorities.

Experts from Mexico's Criminal Investigations Agency and federal attorney general's office Thursday inspected the area where the drone crashed.

--IANS/EFE

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