Spanish Police Seize Unmanned 'Submarine Drones' Used to Move Drugs
A 14-month investigation into a one-of-a-kind drug operation culminated this week in the arrest of eight people by Spanish police.
An unnamed criminal group created custom-built air, land, and sea vehicles intended to transport drugs to criminal organizations across Europe, the BBC reports(Opens in a new window). While Spanish authorities have found such aquatic, drug-toting vessels in the past(Opens in a new window), the ones seized by police this month could independently transport 440 pounds of cocaine or other narcotics across waterways without requiring an on-board, human operator.
“This is the first time that this type of vehicle has been intervened, which operates underwater without a crew on board, called unmanned underwater vehicles or UUV (Unmanned Underwater Vehicle), known as 'submarine drones,'" Spanish police said in a statement(Opens in a new window).
A video posted to the Spanish police Twitter account (@Policía Nacional(Opens in a new window))shows one fully built and two partially constructed submarines. Each appears to be 6- to 8-feet long with a gray-blue color. The body is rectangular with a boxy, cone shape on one end to propel it smoothly through the water like a torpedo. On top are two rectangular cutouts and a tall, smokestack-like cylinder.
The police also uncovered a fleet of six aerial drones that could fly as far as 18.5 miles, £135,527 in cash ($161,201), and 31 pounds of hashish and 18 pounds of marijuana, much of it stored in a car. The video also shows other items the group modified to carry drugs, such as a surfboard with a secret compartment added below it (known as a “double-bottom”). In total, the police found 13 double-bottom vehicles, including a tow truck they intercepted on its
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