Policía Nacional arrested eight people in Cádiz, Malaga and Barcelona and said it was the first time they had come across underwater drones used for drug smuggling. “Three unmanned underwater vehicles were recovered, one of them almost finished and two more under construction,” the force said in a statement. “They were to be handed over to French drug traffickers to be used to transport significant quantities of cocaine.” Officers also seized 145kg of hashish, 8kg of marijuana, €157,370 in cash and six large aerial drones that could cover a distance of 30km. The Policía Nacional said it was the first time it had come across underwater drones used for drug smuggling Photo: Spain’s National Police While the gang specialized in making fake boat bottoms and hidden storage areas for cars and trailers – which they supplied to smugglers and other criminal gangs – they also had a side in marine drones, police said. “They were building large, unmanned drones with a huge payload capacity that meant they could carry between 150kg and 200kg,” the force said. “Among other uses, this equipment would allow drug traffickers to transport large quantities of drugs through the Strait of Gibraltar by remote control.” The 14-month investigation, carried out in collaboration with French police, found the gang provided logistical support to clients in Italy, France and Denmark, as well as criminal gangs in Catalonia, the Costa del Sol, Campo de Gibraltar. and Ceuta, one of Spain’s two North African enclaves. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Six of the eight people accused of drug trafficking and belonging to a criminal organization were remanded in custody. In February, five Spaniards and two Ecuadorians were jailed for their parts in a scheme to transport 3,068 kilograms of cocaine, worth €123 million, across the Atlantic from Brazil to Spain in a makeshift, semi-submersible “drug submarine”.
