Combatting underwater drug smuggling

Bede O’Neil, strategic & international account director at UK-based Plextek, explains how submerged sensors can be used to monitor the increasingly innovative ways criminals are operating.

“The press recently reported that Spanish police had seized several underwater drones built to smuggle drugs across the sea from Morocco,” said Bede O’Neil.

“This seems to be the first capture of its kind and has increased international awareness of underwater crime. It is more technically difficult to monitor the sea than either land or air and is an obvious step for traffickers who are being pressured away from usual routes.”

The company, based in Essex, is no stranger to underwater technology, having worked in the sector for more than 20 years, designing a marine RF telemetry subsystem. However, the Spanish seizure signals a new, more covert threat, says O’Neil, who believes that autonomous sensors could be a low-cost, enduring way to tackle smuggling.

“There could be a discovered asset, like a haul of drugs, that is stored stationary under water for a period of time,” he said. “Police need to know the exact moment smugglers arrive back to collect the drugs. A sensor system provides the basis for a highly cost-effective covert surveillance capability.”

The concept involves the deployment of a low Size Weight Power and Cost (SWaP-C) node fitted to the drugs. If disturbed and brought to the surface, the beacon relays its position enabling tracking.

The technology is in its early stages, but with underwater smuggling becoming more prevalent, wider rollout is anticipated.