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Comment by mrtksn | Hacker News Reader

I personally expect that the first successful drone delivery service will be implemented by some sophisticated drug dealers because unlike with all these drone delivery services, they would need to be quiet and reliably deliver products instead of publicity.

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This is already a widespread problem for prisons, so you are correct.

https://youtu.be/BezZxQF2pRw

“There’s not a prison not fighting this issue in the country,” says Sean Ferguson, New Technology Project Manager at Georgia State Department of Corrections. “If they say they’re not facing it, they’re just not admitting to it. So it is an issue.”

Chose one:

  - quiet
  - drone

That's only true for multi-rotors. Fixed-wing drones can be fairly quiet.

Especially if they glide over the target, release the payload with a parachute, and only restart the propeller(s) once they're a ways away.

No need for a parachute with the payloads that drug dealers are dropping.

The Black Hornet Nano would like a word with you.

I know it's a small drone, but I own lots of small drones and none of them are that quiet, and the tech will likely be applied to larger drones over time.

Already happening here in the UK, especially in prisons where external dealers can drop packages over using a drone

happens in Ireland too.

They allegedly used one to deliver take away too..

https://www.thesun.ie/news/3193503/inmates-drone-deliver-chi...

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/drone-use...

Current deaddrop schemes seem to be working quite well, drones would be much easier to target than just a random person walking around.

One needs to restock these dead drops, right? Maybe a distributor can bypass all the small time street dealers and create an empire whose only distribution channel is drones.

You must be from US - it seems to be lagging behind in that area. Here, there are not street dealers anymore, deaddrops are how end users buy it. And hiring a stream of low-skill couriers that end up in jail after 2-3 months of working for anonymous boss is way cheaper and safer than flying drones from your own location.

At least around here (in US), while street deals are still the common among most people, USPS is likely the one of the biggest/safest methods now. They require a warrant to search domestic packages, not to mention the most common "illicit substance" is now commercially legal in many states...

Don't drones have to be controlled from a certain distance? Most prisons around here are in remote areas, so if you see car pulled over on the side of the road near a prison, maybe they are flying a drone to deliver contraband.

That's a pretty slippery slope, don't you think, if law enforcement started pulling up on all stopped vehicles within X distance of a correctional institution?

It reminds me of the issue where constitutional protections can be selectively removed within 100 miles of the US border by border agents.

4G drones have been around for a while, you can control them from anywhere.

Legally they're not supposed to fly past a certain distance from an operator, but if you don't care about the law you could easily operate via cell towers, or even autonomously via a predefined GPS coordinate based route.

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