dead drop

American  

noun

1. a prearranged secret spot where one espionage agent leaves a message or material for another agent to pick up.

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Example Sentences

An arrest team took Hanssen into custody after catching him making a "dead drop" of classified materials in a park in suburban Virginia, the FBI says.

From Reuters • Jun. 5, 2023

“I am concerned that using a dead drop location your friend prepares makes me very vulnerable,” Mr. Toebbe wrote, according to court records.

From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2022

Diana Toebbe, 46, acted as a lookout while her husband left information at a "dead drop" spot, once hiding a data card inside a peanut butter sandwich.

From BBC • Feb. 18, 2022

Prosecutors, however, countered that Mrs. Toebbe knew about the spying and “acted as a lookout” for Toebbe during a drop off of secrets at one dead drop.

From Washington Times • Feb. 18, 2022

Their weapons were the tradecraft of spies—the dead drop, the brush pass, the one-time pad—and their missions almost always had the same goal: to obtain vital information about the enemy.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau