The Spanish National Police, in cooperation with security authorities in Poland and Ukraine, dismantled a network that was using Ukrainian drones to transport drugs from Morocco to Spain.
The network was led by a Ukrainian who fought against Russia in the current conflict, had specialized knowledge of drones, and imported them in pieces from his home country, according to media sources.
?Desmantelada en #Algeciras una red de "narcodrones” que operaba entre #España y #Marruecos
— Policía Nacional (@policia) November 28, 2024
?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
Besides him, nine people of Spanish and Moroccan nationality were arrested, and six houses were searched in Algeciras and Marbella, resulting in the seizure of three drones, one of which was being assembled, as well as large amounts of money and drugs.
The investigation began over a year ago when authorities uncovered a group utilizing large drones to transport up to 10 kilograms of hashish per flight, with the drones capable of covering distances of nearly 100 kilometers.
The drones would fly from Morocco to Spain and drop the drugs—without landing—in hard-to-reach areas to avoid police, then fly back through the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco.
The national police said that up to 100 flights were carried out and estimated that around 1,000 kilograms of hashish were transported.