Swiss engineer arrested for illegal anti-drone system sales
A Swiss engineer and an Italian entrepreneur were arrested in Rome by the financial crime police for illegally producing and selling anti-drone systems.
According to the Italian news agency AdnKronos on Saturday, the “drone ranger” systems were sold to the armed forces of certain Middle Eastern countries. They can detect, track and neutralise Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) by jamming the remote control frequency as well as the global satellite navigation system. These systems are however classified as war materiel by Italy.
Five other people were also charged but not arrested. The police were able to identify the supply chain from manufacturer to final clients. The systems were to be exported to Spain and later sold to Arab clients. However, no request for permission to export was made to the foreign ministry. The two arrested had already signed contracts worth more than €3.5 million euros (CHF4.1 million). Other contracts worth around €36 million were to follow.
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