New weapon in drug war

United States federal border police will soon launch an unmanned surveillance aircraft with marine radar to patrol the coastline for drug-smuggling boats.

The remote-controlled plane acquired by the Customs and Border Protection agency is an adapted and unarmed version of the Predator drones flown by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Customs spokesman Juan Munoz-Torres said the new drone, able to stay aloft for up to 20 hours, will be used to scour the Pacific, Caribbean and Gulf coasts for drug smugglers.