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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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14

Drug Cartels' Latest Ploy: Ultralight Planes

Ultralight aircraft are the Mexican cartels' newest tactic

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(Newser) – Mexican pot smugglers have come up with a new tool in their never-ending quest to outsmart US border patrols: ultralight aircraft, USA Today reports. An ultralight is a small plane resembling a scooter with a hang glider attached, and authorities have found several crashed or in mid-flight over the border with more than 100 lbs of marijuana attached.

Smugglers like the tactic because ultralights barely show up on radar and aren’t generally considered capable of carrying heavy loads. While numerous craft have probably made it safely, weight limits are probably why more than a few have crashed making their runs. “This is a new twist,” said a US official. “You’re really at war with drug cartels. They change tactics, and we have to change in the same way.”

Ultralight planes can't carry much of anything, but are much harder for authorities to detect.
Ultralight planes can't carry much of anything, but are much harder for authorities to detect.   (Wikimedia Commons)
"This is a new twist," a US border agent says. "You're really at war with drug cartels on this. They change tactics, and we have to change tactics in the same way."   (AP Photo)
A Jordanian man rides a land sailor at the desert of Wadi Rum, South of Jordan, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008.
A Jordanian man rides a land sailor at the desert of Wadi Rum, South of Jordan, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008.   (AP Photo/Nader Daoud)
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14 comments
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Chudluv
Mar 6, 09 4:14 PM CST
Ah this has been going on for years!! LOL Homeland Security for ya. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
Mr.C
Mar 6, 09 9:19 PM CST
as if they are releasing the newest info...
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drlarrymitchell
Mar 6, 09 4:18 PM CST
Lends new meaning to "getting high." Reply
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radnip
Mar 6, 09 4:51 PM CST
Crash, baby, crash! Reply
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AClotfelter
Mar 6, 09 5:01 PM CST
Shoot em' down. Seriously. Who knows who that is or what they are carrying. Reply
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