People trying to smuggle iPhones out of Hong-Kong (where these devices are much less expensive than in the rest of China) are nothing new; just lately a guy trying to smuggle $150 thousand worth of iPhones has been caught in an airport. Today’s news, however, is something a bit more impressive. Slightly before the holidays, as reported by Reuters:

”Authorities arrested 26 suspects who used drones to fly two 200-meter (660-feet) cables between Hong Kong and the mainland to transport refurbished iPhones with a total value of 500 million yuan [in a] crackdown by Shenzhen and Hong Kong customs.”

Smugglers’ gang was pretty good at what it did. They were operating mostly at night, and could smuggle as many as fifteen thousand iPhones in one go. They were eventually caught thanks to Chinese officials’ own drones that were sent to spy on the potential smuggling areas.

All 26 suspects are now under arrest and awaiting further investigation.