24 Feb, 2017 @ 14:57
1 min read

Spain to consider using drones to patrol border fences on Morocco border

drone

droneUNMANNED drones could be used to patrol Spain’s borders with Morocco at Ceuta and Melilla. 

The interior ministry’s secretary for security Jose Antonio Nieto has confirmed interest in introducing airborne surveillance along the borders of the Spanish enclaves.

It comes just days after hundreds of migrants stormed into the country from Morocco by scaling the border fences.

Last month a border officer lost an eye when a 1,100 strong group stormed the fences.

Nieto has since personally visted Aeorum, a leading drone developer in Spain, to discuss the idea.

The drones would be equipped with heat-detecting cameras which would give early warnings of groups gathering to mount an offence at the border.

Despite Spain erecting high fences topped with razor and barbed wire, they are still being climbed over by migrants desperate to reach European soil.

Some 850 have managed to enter the country so far this month.

Spain has been met with criticism by leading human rights groups for its treatment of migrants. 

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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