Spanish police announced Thursday the dismantling of a drug trafficking network that transported cannabis to Spain from Morocco using drones manufactured in Ukraine, with a range of 50 km.
The criminal organization was dismantled in Algeciras, in the far south of Spain, and was “devoted, apparently, to the introduction of hashish (…) from Morocco using unmanned aircraft,” said the national police in a press release.
These devices, which could transport up to 10 kilos of drugs per trip, “were manufactured in Ukraine and then transported by road to the south of the country”, adds the press release, reporting the arrest of ten people, including seven were placed in pre-trial detention. Police authorities from Ukraine and Poland collaborated in the operation.
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According to the police, the drones, large and homemade, allowed the suspects to “cover the distance between Morocco and Spain by flying over the waters of the Strait (of Gibraltar), and to return after dropping the drugs into the country without the need to land.”
The northern coasts of Africa and southern Europe are separated by only about 13 kilometers by the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates the Spanish city of Tarifa from Point Cires, Morocco.
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During the police operation, three devices were seized, including one currently being manufactured, as well as devices for their remote control, tools for their repair and “large sums of cash and drugs” which were allegedly introduced into Spain by drone.
In 2022, 324.7 tonnes of cannabis were seized in Spain, according to the latest official annual data.
Challenge (with AFP)
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