Spain seizes first underwater drug smuggling drones

MADRID: Spanish police said on Monday they had seized six underwater drones capable of transporting large quantities of drugs from Morocco to Spain and broken up a gang suspected of manufacturing them.

Officers seized six of the so-called "drone submarines" and arrested eight people in raids carried out in Barcelona and the southern provinces of Malaga and Cadiz, a police statement said. Police said it was the first time they had seized such devices, which are officially known as unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).

They believe the gang made underwater drones "capable of bearing big loads" for use by other criminal organisations. "These devices could allow drug traffickers to transport large quantities of narcotics remotely across the Strait of Gibraltar," the statement said. The drones had up to 12 motors each and a range of 30-km.