Drone carrying drugs crashes near US-Mexico border

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Crashed drone carrying drugs in Mexico, 21 January 2015Image source, AP
Image caption,
The six-propeller drone crashed in a car park

A drone carrying more than six pounds (2.7kg) of methamphetamine has crashed near Mexico's border with the US.

Mexican police in Tijuana say they were alerted to an unidentified object in a car park of a shopping centre.

"The drone had packages taped to it and was covered with plastic bags containing the drug known as crystal", the local police chief said.

Authorities are investigating where the flight originated, who controlled it and where it was bound for.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Authorities are investigating who controlled the drone

Police say it is not the first time a drone has been used for smuggling drugs across the border.

In April, US authorities in South Carolina found a drone outside a prison fence which had been carrying mobile phones, marijuana and tobacco.

Other attempts to smuggle drugs have included catapults and ultralight aircraft.