The Spanish National Police said on Thursday that they had arresting 10 people, after breaking up a criminal network that used Ukrainian-made drones to fly hashish from Morocco to Spain.
The suspects, based in Andalusia, flew the drugs across the narrow Strait of Gibraltar separating Morocco from Spain ‘using uncrewed aircraft’, police said in a statement. After they released the drugs, the drones returned to Morocco without needing to land in Spain.
The devices were capable of transporting up to 10 kg of drugs per trip with a range of more than 50 km.
They were made by small-scale manufacturers in Ukraine and ‘transferred by road’ to southern Spain by ‘criminal organisations based in the Campo de Gibraltar and Costal del Sol’, the police statement added.
Drone production has soared in the eastern European country in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasion.
Spanish police arrested 10 people following collaboration with Ukrainian and Polish law enforcement. Six properties were searched in Marbella and Algeciras.
The authorities seized three drones, tools, remote control devices and ‘significant quantities’ of cash and drugs suspected of entering Spain via the unusual aerial route.
Spain is a main entry point for drugs into Europe because of its close ties with former colonies in Latin America and its proximity to Morocco, a top cannabis producer.
🚩Desmantelada en #Algeciras una red de “narcodrones” que operaba entre #España y #Marruecos
👉Las aeronaves eran fabricadas en #Ucrania y trasladadas por carretera hasta nuestro país para su uso por organizaciones criminales asentadas en el #CampoDeGibraltar y en la… pic.twitter.com/pwTSPFF7Fm
— Policía Nacional (@policia) November 28, 2024
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