Quantcast

Blogs

gBust! Field of Pot Discovered via Google Earth

Brennon Slattery, PC World

Put down that joint! Google -- and the police -- may be watching you.

Swiss police stumbled across a massive marijuana plantation using Google Earth. The bust netted 16 arrests, 1.2 tons of pot, plus cash and valuables worth 900,000 Swiss Francs (US$780,000).

The arrests were part of a larger operation, said the police. Officers were using Google Earth to find the addresses of two suspects, then coincidentally discovered two acres of weed hidden inside a corn field. Whoops.

Frank Taylor of the Google Earth blog had a few interesting questions about the case. He writes that the search was done in 2006, and Switzerland wasn't updated in Google Earth until February 2007. "So, maybe there was a high res image in [Google Earth] back in 2006 that was more recent and did show the crop. I'd still like to know the location and see the original image the police used that shows the crop."

Criminals take note: you're going to have to be an eensy bit cleverer in this digital age.

  • Recommend this story?
  • 0 Yes
    0 No

"gBust! Field of Pot Discovered via Google Earth" Comments

 

Featured APC Accessories

  • APC Back-UPS ES Safeguards your equipment from damaging surges and spikes that travel along your utility & data lines.
  • APC SurgeArrest Performance Highest level of protection for your professional computers, electronics and connected devices, as well as provides surge protection.

People who read this also read:

Today @ PC World

All PC World Blogs

  • 15 Minutes to a Secure Business Get the Secure in 15 toolkit starting with the "15 Minutes Month-at-a-Glance" calendar. McAfee will send you additional tools and tricks to stay protected around the clock.
  • A Buyer's Guide to Data Protection Implementing data protection products and processes can be daunting. Make the right decisions by exploring what is available and what makes sense for your organization. Use this simple guide to evaluate different vendor offerings.

Sponsored Links