narco-drone

This is an unmanned submersible used to transport drugs, spometimes called a narco-sub or an underwater drone.  The person controlling it could be anywhere in the world but the drone will follow its set path to its destination.  The numbers of these narco-drones has increased in recent years so, although we have not had one in Australia so far as we know, we should expect one in the near future.

When first used in Mexico in 2010, and later throughout South America, the drones could carry 10 kilos of drugs and travel up to 100 kilometres, but their carrying capacity and range has increased since then.  The ones seized recently by Spanish police each carried 200 kilograms of drugs.

The law has not caught up with this situation. The law talks about people being caught in possession of drugs, but can someone who is miles away from the drone be said to be in possession of the drugs?

And is a narco-drone a ship and subject to all the international laws governing the passage of ships on the high seas?  Perhaps the definition of ship needs to be expanded.