Fox News' Alexis McAdams reports on how the NYPD is managing protests in New York City since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel. Drones used to be fancy gadgets for hobbyists or secret weapons for the military. But now they have a new job: delivering drugs. Yes, you heard that right. While El Pollo Loco is using drones to bring you chicken dinners, some bad guys are using them to smuggle drugs across borders.

On August 8th, 2021, Spanish police and customs agents intercepted the cargo ship NATALIA on suspicion of narcotics trafficking. The ship was en route from Lebanon via Iskenderun, Turkey, to Lagos, Nigeria, and hidden on board was nearly 20 tons of hashish worth $470 million. That may sound like the opening scene of an action flick, but it's the kind of occurrence that happens more frequently than you might expect on the high seas. Drug smuggling, illegal fishing, and piracy are constant threats. Following a number of recent piracy incidents in the Gulf of Aden, Iran, Russia, and China recently began naval and air drills seeking to counter maritime piracy.

Japan's Finance Ministry is promoting a program to introduce artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technology to help customs agents crack down on increased smuggling of illegal drugs. The program aims to establish the world's most advanced inspection capabilities according to a plan announced by the ministry in June last year. As part of the program, AI-based analysis will be used to sort through huge amounts of data on past cases of unlawful import activity, looking for patterns of false descriptions on such matters as price, quantity and weight of goods on import declarations. The information will help pin down importers who should be watched more closely. To prevent the importing of illegal drugs, the ministry has already started testing a prototype nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) device that uses AI to check X-rayed items and identify possible drug smuggling.

Dubai Police and Dubai Customs held the first forum discussing ways of preventing drug smuggling into the UAE through land, air and sea ports using cutting edge technology. According to the Khaleej Times, Brigadier Abdullah Ali al-Ghaithi, Director of the General Department of Organizations Protective Security and Emergency (OPSE) of the Dubai Police, said that they are considering using artificial intelligence to secure airports, shipping ports and road borders from smuggling illegal goods. Officials from both entities said they are using high-tech means to detect hiding places that smugglers use for drugs that include teddy bears, their bodies and even almonds. The newspaper reported them saying that one of their latest security programs is the'Alarm Clock'. Effective at airports across the UAE, the program can quickly detect contents in luggage.