$2 million tex/mex surveillance system nets 500lbs of pot

from danger room: A new $2-million citizen surveillance system installed along the Tex-Mex border has yielded just one crime bust after about 6 weeks in operation - 3 suspects who were allegedly caught hauling 540 pounds of marijuana over the border after someone spotted them online, according to the Houston Chronicle. The expensive system of 13 closed-circuit cameras placed along the Rio Grande - which is billed as a "virtual stakeout" for "virtual deputies" - involves images from the cameras that are streamed online. Members of the public are invited to serve as "virtual deputies" by watching the images and reporting any suspicious activity they see. Although authorities wouldn't provide any details about the arrest, saying they didn't want to give information that would reveal the location of the surveillance camera that spotted the suspects, it's presumed that the arrest was the result of a citizen report.