People are using drones to smuggle drugs into Spain. (Image: Spanish Police)
These are the massive handcrafted drones police have seized from a gang accused of using them to fly drugs across the Strait of Gibraltar from Morocco to the .
Police revealed the extraordinary discovery today as they released footage of heavily armed officers breaking down doors with battering rams in the operation to smash
The drones were made in and brought to Spain by road before being used to transport more than 10 kilos of cannabis resin on each flight, which were released over remote areas where gang members were waiting for them and made the pick-ups.
Three of the UAVs have been seized and ten people arrested following raids on homes in Marbella and the port city of Algeciras a 50-minute drive from the famous holiday resort.
A spokesman for Spain’s National Police said today: “The narco drones were made in and brought to Spain by road where they were offered up and drug shipments agreed with local criminal organisations in the Campo de Gibraltar region and the Costa del Sol.
:
Thermal imagery showing the drones being set up. (Image: Spanish Police)
“A total of 10 people have been arrested and seven of them have been remanded in prison.
“Six searches have been conducted in Algeciras and Marbella in an operation which has been supported by EUROPOL as well as police in and Poland.”
Saying the investigation began more than a year ago after police were tipped off about a criminal gang smuggling large amounts of cannabis resin into Spain by air, the force added in a statement: “They were using large-scale handcrafted drones capable of transporting around 10 kilos of cannabis resin on each flight.
“Their maximum autonomy reached exceeded 50 kilometres.
“Their use enabled the gang to fly the drugs over the Gibraltar Strait between Morocco and Spain and return to North Africa after dumping the narcotics in Spain without having to land.”
As well as three drones, police also seized a large amount of cash as well as cannabis resin that had been smuggled into Spain using the aerial route.
An investigating judge in Algeciras is heading an ongoing criminal probe. He decided to remand seven of the ten suspects in jail after they appeared before him in a behind-closed-doors hearing.