China Busts Smugglers Using Drones to Transport Smartphones

[Megalith]

Chinese authorities have nabbed a group of thieves who smuggled $79.8 million worth of iPhones from Hong Kong into Shenzhen using drones: it’s reportedly the first case of its kind in the country. While the system did not appear all that sophisticated, as many as 15,000 phones could be smuggled across the border in one night.

The smugglers usually operated after midnight and only needed seconds to transport small bags holding more than 10 iPhones using the drones, the report quoted customs as saying. The gang could smuggle as many as 15,000 phones across the border in one night, it said. Regulating the use of drones has become an important task for China, the world’s largest manufacturer of consumer drones.

 

[Spidey329]

Probably shouldn't have used DJI drones. The government probably just looked at the telemetry data for repeated trips (if the drone ever connected to the internet, it likely uploaded all stored flightlogs) and staked out the area.

 

[Zepher]

Kinda confusing as it says they used the drones to send the cables across, then it says drones can hold up to 10 phones.

 

[Cyraxx]

China.... against....... smuggling/thievery? Seems like a Catch 22 hurrrr.

 

[Merc1138]

China.... against....... smuggling/thievery? Seems like a Catch 22 hurrrr.

Well, they may not give a shit about IP but they want their tax money.

 

[gwarren007]

Someone wants thier China Phone even cheaper....

 

[robble]

Kinda confusing as it says they used the drones to send the cables across, then it says drones can hold up to 10 phones.

I got that they used droves to run the cables. Then slid bags of iphones across the cables. So the drones weren't actually carrying iphones.

Who knows for sure though. The article is badly written.