The US DEA has used an Apple AirTag for tracking a package delivered to a drug dealer, as noted by Forbes citing a search warrant from last year.
The package was reportedly caught by the border agents coming from China and on its way to a drug dealer in the US.
They then slipped in an AirTag for precise location information and eventually spotted the dealer. Though he was not produced before the federal court yet, he was convicted in the state of Massachusetts.
Tracking a Drug Package
In intriguing news, the US Drug Enforcement Agency has reportedly used an Apple AirTag to track a Chinese package being delivered to a drug dealer in the US. This is based on a search warrant obtained by Forbes, which states the border agents of the agency had intervened in a package in May 2022.
After spotting a pill press and pill dyes in the package, the agents informed the DEA – which in turn suggested sticking an AirTag inside the package to track its movements – probably making it as the first use of AirTag in such a way.
When asked why it used an AirTag, the agency mentioned that the “precise location information” would let investigators “obtain evidence about where such individuals store drugs and/or drug proceeds, where they obtain controlled substances, and where else they distribute them.”
A retired detective who spoke to Forbes said the usage of AirTag could be because of its better reliable connectivity than other devices, or because of past failures of the GPS devices available to police.
Well, this could go wrong if unnecessarily promoted: as AirTags come with certain features that may not make it suitable for covert tracking. Options like playing a high-pitch sound and the ability to track its movement through the Find My app on iPhone can easily spot it.
