Apple tracking device
Drug investigators hid Airtag in a suspicious package – and hoped for the big find
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is responsible for stopping the illegal manufacture of drugs and drug trafficking in the USA
© Ronda_Churchill / Picture Alliance
Apple’s Airtag tracking device is actually used to find lost objects. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials apparently wanted to use it to locate a drug laboratory – and put an airtag in a suspicious package.
Last May, two US border officials intercepted two suspicious packages coming from China. Inside you will find: A pill press, which can be used to make tablets from powder, and dye. Such devices are very popular in the manufacture of drugs, such as ecstasy, and there are relatively few useful uses for private individuals. With the find, officers contacted the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and referred the case.
The DEA subsequently decided aloud “forbes” not for the destruction of the goods or a visit to the recipient’s address, but dared an experiment. The drug investigators hid an Apple Airtag in the package to find out more about its further route – and in the best case to come across a production site for illegal narcotics.
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An attempt that may have failed
According to the search warrant obtained by Forbes, it was the first time the agency had decided on this unusual type of prosecution. Why no other GPS tracker came into question is not clear from the report, according to the source. The DEA writes: “”Accurate information on the location of the [Pillenpresse] will enable investigators to obtain evidence of where these individuals store drugs and/or drug proceeds, where they obtain controlled substances and where else they distribute them.”
A former police officer believes that the DEA wanted to try the airtags after numerous failures with established devices. Unlike GPS trackers, which are based on signals from positioning satellites, air tags work using so-called ultra-wideband technology (UWB). Communication works exclusively via Bluetooth and passes on the position via contact with nearby iPhones, iPads and Macs. If the alleged dealers come near the press with Apple smartphones, for example, the investigators would know where they are – regardless of jammers, which could switch off GPS signals relatively easily.
Whether the investigation bore fruit is not clear from the documents, writes “Forbes”. According to the Ministry of Justice, however, there were charges against the recipient of the packages.
Airtag may have warned dealers
What role the Airtag ultimately played remains open. Since the deployment is not a scenario intended by Apple, problems could have arisen during the investigation. Due to numerous attempts to misuse the tracker, especially in connection with stalking, Apple has installed security mechanisms that make it much more difficult to track the air tags unnoticed.
As soon as an unknown Airtag appears near other Apple devices, people are warned about it. In addition, an Airtag plays beeps when the owner’s device has not been nearby for a long time. The latter can be suppressed by modifying the air tags. Still, it’s likely that the little Apple puck was found before it could reveal any really important addresses.
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