WOOSTER, Ohio — Some of the packages you see on porches this holiday season may be bugged.
“GPS tracker units in them. We’re going to have them staged throughout various areas throughout the county,” said Senior Agent Jason Waddell, Medway Drug Enforcement Agency.
The boxes will be around Wooster and throughout Wayne County.
“We’ll just monitor the activity,” Waddell said. “When these things start moving, we’ll know right away.”
Homeowners have used everything from glitter bombs to cat feces to technology to try to deter the bad guys in recent years.
But GPS holds unique promise in the county, where stolen items have been traded for drugs. If they can be tracked, more than one crime may be solved.
“People are out stealing packages, hoping to get something that will help support their habit,” Waddell said. “If we know the people, we might want to wait and see where they deliver our package to.”
He said it could ultimately lead to a search warrant in a known drug house.
Homeowners will volunteer their porches for the program. Everything from TVs to clothing will have the GPS devices in them and come in boxes that look reputable.