The Spanish police announced the dismantling of a drug trafficking network that transported cannabis from Morocco to Spain using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) manufactured in Ukraine with a range of 50 kilometers.

The criminal organization, dismantled in Algeciras in the southernmost part of Spain, “was engaged in the importation of hashish,” said the Spanish police.

?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

The drones, which could carry up to 10 kilograms of drugs at a time, “were manufactured in Ukraine and then transported by road to the southern part of the country.”

Authorities arrested 10 individuals, 7 of whom were placed under temporary detention.

The police forces of Ukraine and Poland cooperated in the operation.

According to the police, the drones, which were large and homemade, allowed the suspects to “cross the distance between Morocco and Spain by flying over the maritime area of the Strait [of Gibraltar] and return after dropping the drugs into the country without needing to land.”

During the police operation, three such aircraft were seized, one of which was under construction, along with devices for remote control, tools for repairing the drones, and “significant amounts of cash and quantities of drugs” that were intended to enter Spain via drone.