Dead Drop: October 18

GETTING BUZZED FOR 17 DAYS STRAIGHT:  No, this is not a story about a former CIA station chief…. though it is about Langley.  Not the one you’re thinking of (location of CIA headquarters in northern Virginia) but the one where an Air Force base is located in southern Virginia.  Turns out that the base is also known as the scene of recent mysterious unidentified drone-like activity. Reportedly, shortly after sunset for 17 days straight – drones flying more than 100 miles an hour, at an altitude of 3 to 4,000 feet decided to do a flyover.  The Wall Street Journal broke the story citing witnesses who comparing the noise the drones made to “a parade of lawn mowers.” The disturbing thing about this story is that officials say they don’t know where the drones came from, where they went or who sent them (though we’re willing to bet they were made in China). And just to make things worse (cause things can always get worse) federal law won’t let the military shoot them down “unless they impose an imminent threat.” For lack of a better explanation - and let’s hope someone is looking for one - we’re just gonna chalk it up to… well…something disturbing.  There are certainly more fun and secure ways to get buzzed for 17 days straight.

DID A RUSSIAN SPY TAKE THE PLUNGE AND GO TO WORK FOR THE BRITS? Yes, according to what we’re gonna call a very thinly-sourced story in the British tabloid Express. The tale goes something like this: A Russian spy went to Cyprus to gather intelligence.  (The island sports lots of tourist destinations – but also an RAF base at Akrotiri).  The Express says the mole had the codename “Sunshine 24” (although it’s not clear if that moniker was attached to him by the Russians or the Brits.)  In any case, the tabloid says the chap was posing as a plumber and was offering his services to British military personnel who were living on the island (because, you know, plumbers get the best leaks). But somehow, the true nature of his mission allegedly became known to British intelligence – so in May of this year – a British intelligence officer posing as a military person allegedly called the plumber to complain that his loo was overflowing and he needed help right away. Sunshine allegedly quickly showed up to fix the problem but the intel officer befriended him – took him fishing and hooked a big one. Within a couple months – the plumber was said to be giving the Brits intelligence that supposedly allowed GCHQ to intercept crucial information about Russia and Iran. And Sunshine supposedly has been resettled somewhere where his former spymasters won’t find him.  The whole story sounds a little fishy to us. A plumber being immediately available? Come on.