Smuggling of counter UAV system to Libya stopped in Spain

Jan 18, 2024 | Libyan actors

The Spanish police revealed this week that on 18 January five people were arrested in simultaneous raids in Madrid and on the airport of Valencia for attempting to illegally export a 2 mio EUR Counter-UAV (drone) system to Libya in violation of the UN arms embargo. The system, able to counter Micro- and Mini-UAVs, was intended for the Special Deterrence Force (Rada) in Tripoli and might have been employed at Tripoli Airport.

Four of those arrested are Spaniards from a Madrid-based technology firm specialized in defense equipment called Star Defense Logistics & Engineering (SDLE). This includes the CEO Aurelio Estrella Rio. The fifth is a Libyan with links to Rada. According to other sources, the arrested Libyan is a key figure in Rada.