Mini helicopter to track down cannabis

Police in the east of the country have a new weapon in their efforts to track down marijuana plantations – an unmanned mini helicopter which can smell as well as see.


The helicopter, known as a cannacopter, is fitted with apparatus that draws in air released from chimneys and ventilators and checks for suspicious smells.
‘We are not talking about a plant on the windowsill. This is a €2bn industry and 80% of that is exported,’ Johan Warmerdam of the anti marijuana plantation squad told the Volkskrant.
The press launch of the cannacopter on Tuesday booked the machine’s first success – a marijuana packing operation in an abandonned piggery. Seven people were arrested.
The farmer who owned the buildings said he had no idea what his tenants were up to. He is being considered a witness, the Volkskrant said.

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