Hezbollah-linked drone smuggling ring uncovered in Europe – report
French paper reveals security agencies in Spain, Germany, France, and the UK thwarted massive smuggling operation targeting Israeli civilians and military
Stav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel
A multinational Hezbollah smuggling network operating across Europe has been exposed and dismantled, with authorities intercepting large quantities of drone components intended for use in attacks against Israel, the French newspaper Le Figaro reported.
The sophisticated operation reportedly spanned Spain, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, and aimed to supply the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group with materials capable of producing hundreds — if not thousands — of explosive UAVs.
According to the Friday report, authorities first learned of the network in mid-2024, when Spain’s Civil Guard tracked suspicious purchases of drone components by Lebanese nationals operating through Spanish front companies. Those materials, which included electronic guidance systems, engines, propellers, and chemical compounds for drone assembly, were destined for Hezbollah and were intercepted before they could be shipped.
Authorities believe some of those parts were already used in drones launched by the terror group toward Israel.
Arrests in July 2024 marked the first breakthrough, with Spanish authorities apprehending a suspect named as Firas A.H. in Barcelona, accusing him of acquiring and attempting to ship materials that could be weaponized against both military and civilian targets in Israel, the report said.
Simultaneously, German police arrested a suspect named as Fadel Z. in Salzgitter. German prosecutors revealed that he had been affiliated with Hezbollah since at least 2016 and had sourced drone engines in Germany with the explicit goal of supporting attacks on Israel.
A second wave of arrests followed in April 2025, according to the report.
Spain detained three additional suspects in Barcelona, while the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI), France’s domestic spy agency, arrested a man on charges of terrorist conspiracy with intent to commit crimes targeting individuals — again, with Israel believed to be the ultimate target.
Meanwhile, two suspects were arrested in London, both suspected of financing terrorism and belonging to a proscribed organization. UK police emphasized that the investigation focused on Hezbollah’s activities both abroad and within Britain, though no immediate threat to the public was found.
The two suspects have been released on bail pending further investigation, with a court date set for mid-July 2025. In a public statement, the head of the British Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) sent a strong message: “Our investigation remains ongoing, but I hope that these arrests show we will take robust action against anyone here whom we suspect as being involved in terrorist activity, regardless of whether their activity is focused here in the UK or elsewhere.”
While European intelligence services said the network did not intend to carry out attacks on European soil, the scale and organization of the operation underscored Hezbollah’s continued efforts to equip itself for combat against Israel, using Europe as a logistical hub.
The Europe-based ring drew comparisons to Iran’s longstanding international weapons and cash smuggling campaign in support of Hezbollah, largely directed toward Beirut.
Last week, the Saudi outlet Al-Hadath revealed that Hezbollah has shifted to smuggling weapons into Lebanon via sea routes. According to the report, Iran is now relying on maritime channels to support Hezbollah, after overland smuggling routes — primarily through Syria — were shut down earlier this year due to Israeli attacks, the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and crackdowns on smuggling by the Lebanese government.
In February, the IDF revealed that Iran had been smuggling cash to Hezbollah via Beirut’s international airport. In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee, said the cash was being smuggled by the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force to Hezbollah using civilian flights. The money was being used by the Iran-backed terror group to rebuild itself, according to the IDF.
For over a year after the breakout of the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, triggered by Hamas’s invasion of southern Israel, Hezbollah launched thousands of drone and rocket attacks against Israel.
The attacks targeted civilian communities and military positions alike, forcing mass evacuations from northern Israeli towns and prompting a protracted state of high alert across the region. It was the most prolonged and intense period of Hezbollah-Israel hostilities since the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
Since the implementation of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024, the northern border has remained relatively quiet. Although the ceasefire formally expired in February, large-scale fighting has not resumed, and tensions have so far been contained.
Despite the IDF’s withdrawal from Lebanon as part of the agreement, Israel has maintained a presence in five key points in southern Lebanon, which Defense Minister Israel Katz claims is necessary for the protection of northern residents.
The Times of Israel Community.