Ukrainian pilots arrested for drug smuggling

SPANISH police have broken up a drug trafficking ring that used elite Ukrainian helicopter pilots to fly drugs across the Strait of Gibraltar in daring lowlevel night flights.

Guardia Civil officers arrested two Ukrainians after they landed a helicopter near Chiclana de la Frontera in southern Spain. The operation took place in January but details of the arrests and the drug trafficking ring have only just emerged.

One pilot has been identified as Vitor Blaha, a former Ukrainian police colonel, who is accused of piloting the helicopter, which was carrying just under 800 kilograms of cannabis resin. A third man, a Moroccan national resident in Spain, died near the location where the helicopter landed after crashing his car as he attempted to flee.

Nine arrests were made in the operation, including two men the Guardia Civil described as expert pilots. As well as the helicopter containing drugs, a French-made Alouette III, a similar aircraft, was also seized nearby.

The gang’s route involved flying across the Strait to northern Morocco, where the drugs were loaded.

The pilots would then return to Spain at night, travelling at a height of no more than 30 metres above sea level without using the helicopter’s lights and with navigation systems turned off to avoid electronic detection.

According to investigators, a helicopter such as the one Mr Blaha was piloting that night is “virtually undetectable because it flies so low that the mountains cause the waves received by Spanish radars to be lost”. They added: “Those on board during these flights are taking a great risk.”

The fee charged by a pilot is thought to be around €150,000 per flight.

The operation started when the Guardia Civil became aware of a helicopter leaving flying south from Cádiz province. The officers coordinated with Moroccan police to track the aircraft. As it returned to Spanish airspace, a Guardia Civil helicopter took up pursuit and coordinated with officers on the ground to intercept the suspects once they landed. Around 30 bundles of hashish were stored in a space behind the pilot.