It’s no secret that drugs and music festivals go together like peanut butter and jelly—at least for the majority of raucous festival-goers— so finding illicit substances is typically not an issue. Now, however, it might easier than ever before, thanks largely in part to today’s accessible technology.
Specifically, flying drones.
Drug Dealer Drones
At festivals, airdropping is becoming more prominent than ever before, and no, we’re not referring to your new iPhone XR. According to a report from the Daily Star, dealers are bringing in popular festival drugs such as ecstasy, prescription pills, ketamine, coke, and even weed, via airdrops, thanks to law enforcement’s crackdown on festival drug use.
Amid today’s festival culture, police are finding more and more Class A contraband than ever before. As a result, they’ve employed an influx of drug-sniffing dogs to weed out some of the narcotics. It did have an impact, until dealers started utilizing drones.
“Sniffer dogs are all over it and we’re losing s**t loads. So we’re flying drones in now instead,” an anonymous dealer said to the Star.
The process itself is pretty, however, it takes some degree of reconnaissance work. Typically, dealers scope out a remote area at the festival grounds where security is non-existent. They then put a tracker device in the area, and a third-party located outside of the festival will fly the narcotics to the track location.
“Once it’s in you’re sorted. It’s getting it in that’s the problem. But with drones it’s a lot easier,” the dealer said. “You find a point in a field where no one is, then put a tracker there so the drone can find the location. Then you land it and pick up the drugs. We’ll get someone outside the festival to operate it and I’ll pick them up. You only really need one journey.”
This newfound technique isn’t actually all that groundbreaking— it somewhat mirrors what the cartel does to smuggle drugs into prison and over the U.S. Mexico border Albeit, those come in much larger quantities.
Festival Deaths on the Rise
One of the biggest reasons for the crackdown has been a rise in festival deaths due to illicit drugs—drugs that have, by and large, been initially acquired on the dark web with no real warnings about strength and proper dosage.
“It used to be that people at festivals wanted pills and you pretty much knew what you were getting, but now they want all kinds – ket, MDMA, GHB, the lot,” the Star’s source added.
“People underestimate how potent they are and their bodies can’t take what they’re being given.”
