More than a dozen high-powered crop-dusting drones capable of rapidly spreading chemicals over wide areas have been recovered after going missing last month.
The theft raised concerns among federal law enforcement about possible terrorist use.
Homeland Security Investigations in Newark, New Jersey, wrote Monday on X that the 15 drones, worth approximately $870,000, were found in a New Jersey warehouse.
"No other information is available at this time as this is an ongoing investigation," HSI Newark wrote.
The Ceres Air C31 drones, each about the size of an ATV, were stolen March 24 from CAC International, a logistics and shipping company in Harrison, New Jersey, WKXW-FM reported.
The High Side Substack reported April 22 that a phony bill of lading was used at pickup, supported by a fake confirmation email that CAC International believed was legitimate.
The State Police Cargo Theft Unit found the drones nearly 30 miles away inside Prudent Corporation's warehouse in Dover, according to WKXW.
Prudent provides warehouse storage, trucking services, and licensed commercial moving.
Each GPS-guided drone is designed as a crop duster capable of spreading up to 40 gallons of liquid over 15 acres in eight minutes.
The theft stoked fears within the FBI that the drones could be used by terrorists for a chemical attack on U.S. soil.
"The bureau is freaked out for a good reason," retired FBI agent Steve Lazarus told The High Side in an email.
"These aren’t hobby drones with cameras. They’re industrial sprayers designed to carry and disperse significant amounts of liquid quickly and with precision.
"A typical agricultural drone can cover a large area in minutes, following GPS-guided paths — that’s exactly what they’re built for in farming, but it also means that, in the wrong hands, they’re a ready-made delivery system."
The U.S. military has been aware of the potential threat from weaponized farm drones for years.
An Army report on drone warfare from 2020 stated that an agricultural drone becoming a chemical or biological warfare "delivery platform is a definite possibility, especially for developing nations."
"Such [agricultural] drones are readily available and could be used as a delivery system for chemical or biological attacks," the manual stated.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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