iPhones worth $80 million smuggled using drones

Chinese customs officers recently brought down an illegal activity of smugglers using drone technology to smuggle numerous iPhones worth $80 million.

Around 26 suspects were arrested for smuggling $80 million worth of iPhones through drones between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, China’s Legal Daily reported. With this setup, the smugglers reportedly used to transport as much as 15,000 phones in just one night.

The smugglers were alleged to smuggle approximately $79.5 million (500 million yuan) of iPhones. They criminals used numerous drones for forming a connection between the two places, marking this as first kind of smuggling to involve drone technology.

Two 660ft long cables between high-rise buildings on either side of the border were used. The criminal offense was carried out at night when the smugglers would pack bags carrying around 10 iPhones and attach them to the drones. As the cable was set, a pulley system was used to bring across the packages that had iPhones attached to them. The drones would then fly from Hong Kong to Shenzhen within seconds.

As per state media, customs officers said it was the first case that they encountered where drones were used for goods’ smuggling. The bust was made back in February as a part of joint operation between authorities in the two cities, reported CNN.