Police Drones Unleashed in China

Drones are helping police forces across China break up drug rings, stamp out terrorist threats and fight official corruption.

In Kashgar, a western region, police deploy the UAV AT-100 by Chinese firm Shenzhen Art-Tech R/C Hobby to fly surveillance missions against potential terrorists.

“Police UAVs play an irreplaceable role in emergencies and daily security affairs,” Art-Tech President Lin Weidong said, adding that “drones can greatly improve the speed of police response to situations and enhance their work efficiency. This means, there will be a huge market potential in the sector.”

A hybrid drone (battery and gas powered), the AT-100 can fly for up to 90 minutes with a 3,000 meters above sea level. It can fly for as long as 90 minutes with a 22-pound payload.

Aircam Ad4 series micro-drones are also being used as counter-terrorism deterrents by China’s “Snow Leopard Strom Troops and Anti-Highjacking Special Police Forces” in aerial surveillance, suspect pursuit and emergency responses to riots.

China’s state-sponsored news agency Xinhua reports that more than 300 police drones are in use in 25 provinces. “At the moment, police UAVs can be used only for surveillance and detection. In criminal cases which require police UAVs to work in small spaces with strong signal interference, the device is incapable of working effectively with its current technology,” Lin Daolin, deputy director of the Police Aviation Administration Office at the Ministry of Public Security said.

The Huidong area of Guangdong Province has long been notorious for being a major manufacturing hotspot for illegal ketamine, which is widely used as a “date-rape drug.” Recently, police purchased five drones that enabled them to plan more efficient drug raids. Along with an additional investment in paid informants and more officers, the agency cracked down on three drug gangs and indicted 49 Huidong officials for helping the gangs.

“Drones fly every day, mainly over local mountains, forests, large orchards and other target areas where police officers find it difficult to patrol and where secret drug dens might hide,” town official Zhou Yongku told China Daily. After the drone deployment, government officials were able to remove Huidong from its top drug-manufacturing lists.