It was supposed to be an easy $1,000 job. All 25-year-old Jorge Edwin Rivera had to do was pilot a drone, carrying a lunchbox filled with 13 pounds of methamphetamine, from one side of the US-Mexico border to the other where an accomplice could retrieve the smuggled cargo. What he didn't count on was Border Patrol agents spotting the UAV in flight and tracking it back to his hiding spot, 2,000 yards from the national divide. This isn't the first time that smugglers have used commercially-available drones to carry contraband. In 2015, the Border Patrol caught a two people dropping off 28 pounds of heroin in Calexico, California, and, in the same year, caught another drug ring delivering 30 pounds of cannabis to San Luis, Arizona.

The emergence of terrorist drones flown by ISIS in Iraq has fueled interest in drone-defense technology – while raising questions about whether the U.S. is ready for potential drone terrorist attacks on the homeland. Over the last six months, ISIS has increased its use of weaponized and surveillance drones against Iraqi and U.S. forces. U.S. Central Command told Fox News coalition troops have as many as 30 encounters a week with unmanned aerial vehicles. These drones are inexpensive ones modified to drop grenades or to surveil troop movements. Underscoring the accessibility and affordability of these drones: During the last two months, the U.S. military has destroyed at least five ISIS drone facilities, including one factory and four storage facilities.

Government agencies, airport operators and law enforcement agencies looking to ground drones can now put the flying devices in their crosshairs. A company called DroneShield has introduced a 13-pound, rifle-shaped jammer that it says can take down drones from a distance as far as 1.2 miles away. The DroneGun isn't meant for drone hobbyists or their vengeful neighbors. The company says it could thwart drones carrying explosives intended to carry out a civilian or military attack, or stop those that venture illegally into restricted airspace or onto prohibited property. The gun's effect is not exactly obvious.

Drones are flying bundles of sensors and radio waves, sometimes put to nefarious purpose. In Iraq, the insurgent group ISIS put this combination to deadly effect, killing enemies and assembling a small aerial arsenal. Small, deadly drones used to kill are relatively new to battlefields, so companies are making new weapons to take drones down. The latest, from DroneShield, is the plainly-named "Dronegun." The company claims the weapon has a range of over a mile, and promises to immediately cease video transmission back to the drone operator.

The'DroneGun' blocks drones from flying and can also jam their GPS Gun is designed to stop drones carrying explosives or other weapons It weighs only 13lbs (6kg) and can be operated by just one person It disables drones in a safe and controlled manner, away from target zones The'DroneGun' blocks drones from flying and can also jam their GPS The DroneGun is a signal-jamming rifle capable of taking out an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) from 1.2 miles (2km) away'I spy, with my little drone...': This is the world's... China unveils its answer to Amazon's Echo: The $118 LingLong... The AI that gives you a voice: Lip-reading machine... Why Mars astronauts risk going BLIND: Scientists finally... 'I spy, with my little drone...': This is the world's... China unveils its answer to Amazon's Echo: The $118 LingLong... The AI that gives you a voice: Lip-reading machine... Why Mars astronauts risk going BLIND: Scientists finally...

There are numerous systems built to take down wayward or dangerous drones, but they tend to have one big catch: you need to be relatively close to the drone, which could be scary if the robotic aircraft is packing explosives. DroneShield thinks it can help. Like most rivals, it doesn't destroy the target drone -- it just forces the vehicle to land or return to its starting point. Anti-drone teams can not only disable threats from a safe distance, but potentially locate their pilots. It's not the lightest machine at about 13 pounds, but it's portable enough to be usable by one person. You don't need technical training, either, so it's easy for security staff to use.