Spanish police said today that a network of traffickers is using improvised drones, capable of travelling more than 200 kilometres, to transport cannabis from Morocco to Spain.

The drones were taking off from southern Spain to pick up the drugs in Morocco and, on their return, carried the cargo to the communities of Vejer de la Frontera and Tarifa, in southern Andalusia, according to a press release from the Spanish militia.

The packages bore fluorescent markings and radio frequency geolocation devices to facilitate their overnight retrieval, authorities explained.

The gang was building the drones, which had a range of more than 200 kilometers, using components sourced from Asian companies.

“The group was capable of developing improvised devices of great autonomy, precision and loading capacity, far superior to conventional commercial models,” the Spanish police press release said.

The network operated almost every night, launching up to 10 drones at a time, which allowed it to transport around 200 kilos of cannabis in total.

The operation was conducted in cooperation with Moroccan police after authorities tracked down several flights of drones of unknown origin between the two countries.

Eight operational drones and another 10 under construction were seized during searches on Monday, as well as more than 150 kilograms of cannabis and the sum of 320,000 euros. Nine people were arrested.