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Drug smuggling: Underwater drones seized by Spanish police (BBC)
Spanish police have seized three underwater drones built to smuggle drugs across the sea from Morocco.
The unmanned submersibles are apparently capable of carrying up to 200kg (441lbs) of cargo.
Police say it means they have broken up a gang suspected of building the vehicles and supplying them to drug smugglers across Europe.
Spanish police say it is the first time they have discovered an underwater vehicle capable of being operated unmanned.
"These devices could allow drug traffickers to transport large quantities of narcotics remotely across the Strait of Gibraltar," police said in a statement.
...
Armed with GPS navigation systems, the vehicles could potentially be operated by drug traffickers from anywhere in the world using an internet-device as simple as a tablet.
...
Officials claimed the gang specialised in building a wide range of air, land, and sea vehicles intended specifically to transport drugs, and accused them of supplying the devices to criminal organisations in Denmark, Italy, France and Spain.
According to EFE news agency, investigators discovered 13 different types of vehicles - including trailers with concealed "double bottoms" capable of holding up to 800kg of cargo.
The unmanned submersibles are apparently capable of carrying up to 200kg (441lbs) of cargo.
Police say it means they have broken up a gang suspected of building the vehicles and supplying them to drug smugglers across Europe.
Spanish police say it is the first time they have discovered an underwater vehicle capable of being operated unmanned.
"These devices could allow drug traffickers to transport large quantities of narcotics remotely across the Strait of Gibraltar," police said in a statement.
...
Armed with GPS navigation systems, the vehicles could potentially be operated by drug traffickers from anywhere in the world using an internet-device as simple as a tablet.
...
Officials claimed the gang specialised in building a wide range of air, land, and sea vehicles intended specifically to transport drugs, and accused them of supplying the devices to criminal organisations in Denmark, Italy, France and Spain.
According to EFE news agency, investigators discovered 13 different types of vehicles - including trailers with concealed "double bottoms" capable of holding up to 800kg of cargo.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62040790
