Man Charged with Delivering Fentanyl Via Drone to Church Parking Lot

An alleged California drug dealer got a bit creative before his cunning ways ran their course, ending in his arrest and the possibility of life in jail.

A 34-year-old man named Christopher Patrick Laney was arrested on Wednesday on a nine-count federal grand jury indictment for the use of a drone to deliver fentanyl and other narcotics. One of the buyers who used this drone-dropping delivery method died of an overdose last year. 

That person’s death is what brought this operation to light. Laney allegedly used an undocumented drone—it was apparently big enough to need to be registered with the Federal Aviation Administration—on Jan 17, 2023 to drop the drugs off at a church parking lot to another dealer who distributed it to the victim. This was one of three occasions in which the drone was used in this way. 

The drone had video footage of the alleged drug deliveries, which were later obtained by officials. 

Laney faces a laundry list of charges: one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death, four counts of knowingly and willfully operating an unregistered aircraft in furtherance of a felony narcotics crime, and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Even more charges to his name include two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

He could see life in prison as a max sentence, with a minimum of 25 years, if convicted. 

Earlier this year, VICE documented how drones are replacing human drug mules. One of the larger cases brought up at the time was in India, where border officials tracked 107 drones that were all carrying drugs over a year.