Swiss authorities use Google Earth for drug bust

Google's online mapping software Google Earth, which has drawn flak from Indian authorities for disclosing the locations and details of sensitive military installations, has found a novel use among Swiss law enforcement officials who have used the resource to sniff out a secret marijuana plantation.

The find came last year during an investigation into an alleged drug ring. Officers were using Google Earth to find the addresses of a couple of farmers suspected of involvement in the operation, and "quickly spotted" the 7,500-square metre illicit horticultural site in the northeastern canton of Thurgau, a northeast canton of Switzerland.

"It was an interesting chance discovery," said Norbert Klossner, the head of Zurich police's narcotics unit.

The cops' drug-busting dragnet resulted in the arrest of 16 people and the seizure of 11.1 tonnes of marijuana plus 900,000 Swiss francs ($780,000) in cash and valuables.

According to officials, the gang is "alleged to have sold up to seven tonnes of hashish and marijuana between 2004 and 2008, with an annual turnover of 3-10 million francs a year".

Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographic information programme that was originally called Earth Viewer, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a company acquired by Google in 2004. It maps the earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe. It is available under three different licenses: Google Earth, a free version with limited functionality; Google Earth Plus (discontinued), which included additional features; and Google Earth Pro ($400 per year), which is intended for commercial use.

The product, renamed Google Earth in 2006, is currently available for use on personal computers running Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Mac OS X 10.3.9 and above, Linux, and FreeBSD. Google Earth is also available as a browser plug-in for Firefox, Safari 3, IE6, or IE7. It was also made available on the iPhone OS as a free download from the App Store.

The release of Google Earth in mid 2006 to the public caused a more than 10-fold increase in media coverage on virtual globes between 2006 and 2007, driving public interest in geospatial technologies and applications.