DEA uses Apple AirTag as a Surveillance device

According to technology industry insiders, this is the first time that a federal law enforcement agency has used Apple’s location-tracking device as a surveillance tool. The investigation began in May 2022, when U.S. border security officers intercepted a package coming from Shanghai, China. One package contained a pill pressing device, which is used to compact powders into tablets. The other contained a shipment of dyes. The border agents believed that the package was being sent to illegal drug producers and notified the DEA. Forbes obtained a search warrant from the DEA. They then hidden an Apple AirTag in the pill press and allowed the packages to go to their destination. The DEA agents used location data sent from the Bluetooth-enabled device, to track the movements and delivery of the package to their destination. According to court documents, a federal agent stated that the “precise information for the [pill presses] will allow investigators the ability to obtain evidence about where such individuals store drug proceeds and/or obtain controlled substances and where they distribute them,” according Forbes. Wilkins explained that an AirTag can be hidden and is less likely that it will be found by suspects. He said that suspects are improving at countersurveillance techniques, noting that subjects have found GPS trackers larger in size than the Apple AirTags used in past investigations. AirTags are also more reliable than other tracking devices. Apple launched the AirTag in April 2021. The quarter-sized tracker was designed to help consumers find lost items, such as devices and bags. Many users have shared success stories about finding lost items and tracking property as they travel, with the technology being available online for less than $30. The devices have been used for criminal purposes as well as by stalkers who secretly placed AirTags with the victim’s personal items, enabling their movements to be tracked from far away. Apple has since taken steps to prevent this. Apple released an update to iPhones that allows them to notify users if they have an unidentified AirTag on their person. AirTags can also sound an alarm if they are not within the reach of their owner for a prolonged period of time. This makes them a difficult surveillance tool for law enforcement agencies that want to keep an eye on suspects while conducting investigations. Jerome Greco, a Supervising Attorney at the Legal Aid Society, stated that if a surveillance technique or investigative tactic can be technologically feasible, “we must always assume that police will take advantage of it.” Greco explained to Forbes that AirTags and other products continue to cause concern due to their ease of abuse and the potential consequences of such abuses. The DEA investigation is yet another extension of AirTags being misused for purposes that were presumably not intended by Apple. It is not clear how valuable AirTags were to the DEA’s investigation. The agency was able to track the package that contained the pill press for 45 day throughout the District of Massachusetts. It also tracked the package through any other state in the U.S. Court records indicate that the recipient of this package was not charged in federal court. Forbes was informed by the Department of Justice that the suspect had been charged in state court.