There is truly no innovation quite like that found in the criminal world. From the same group that recently brought you the personal low-profile submarine, we now present the drug bazooka.
Mexican military and police officials recently seized their second such device, which is most likely used to launch bags of drugs weighing up to 100 pounds each over border walls near Douglas, Arizona and Sonora, Mexico.
The drug launching device was mounted to the floor of van and connected to an air compressor. The van also featured a sliding roof so the tube of the nine-foot long bazooka could be raised like an artillery howitzer for airmailing drugs into the U.S.
U.S. authorities say these air cannons have utilized everything from cans to plastic bags in getting marijuana, cocaine and crystal meth over the border. And the engineering behind these machines is no joke – they have a range of up to 200 meters, or more than 1/10th of a mile.
These bazookas, air cannons or drug howitzers are the latest iteration in aerial drug delivery devices. Previous methods included throwing small packages by hand, and over the course of the last five years Mexican authorities have seized numerous catapults used for smuggling marijuana.