International| Illegal narcotics
The tech bros selling drugs by drone
How criminal innovators are mastering synthetic drugs, AI, the dark web and drones
This is a digital illustration depicting a plastic ziplock bag containing a white powdery substance, which is often associated with illicit drugs. However, instead of actual powder falling into the bag, a stream of binary code (1s and 0s) is pouring in.T
Illustration: Benedetto Cristofani
“NEW CHOPPERS, boots on the ground, more co-ordination, and increased resources.” These were some of the steps Canada has taken to halt the flow of fentanyl across the border to America, said the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, on March 3rd. Just 13 grams of the stuff was seized by American border authorities in January, down 97% from the same month in 2024. Nevertheless, hours later President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China in order, he said, to force those countries to stop drugs “pouring into our country”.