Surveillance cameras are detected on border palm trees; Officials believe they belong to cartels

Authorities are continually investing in new, cutting-edge technology to reduce the number of unlawful crossings across the southern border, using devices ranging from drones to zeppelins.

But for every technical advance the authorities make, there is bound to be a way that smugglers and cartels try to evade them. Case in point: Last week, authorities in the Rio Grande Valley reported that human smugglers are now using drones to help monitor areas through which they can transport immigrants into the US.

Another tactic was revealed Monday when Mexican authorities seized 24 surveillance cameras installed by drug cartels in the border city of San Luis Rio Colorado, according to CBS News. The cameras, which were mounted on telephone poles, lampposts and palm trees, are believed to have been placed by cartel operatives, commonly known as “falcons”, to monitor the movements of police and military personnel as they try to smuggle drugs into the US.

Army troops removed the cameras, which prosecutors described as ordinary porch-style devices wrapped in duct tape. The cameras were found in three different neighborhoods, mounted on electricity poles, public lighting and palm trees.

The discovery is not the first example of cartels setting up their own surveillance networks in or near border cities. In 2015, authorities in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, uncovered a similar cartel surveillance operation involving at least 39 cameras monitoring military and law enforcement activities.

These cameras were powered by electrical lines and connected to the Internet via telephone cables, allowing them to function wirelessly or through commercial providers.