Police close £800,000 investigation into last year’s drone chaos at Gatwick airport without arresting the culprits
- Two people held in aftermath of the three-day fiasco and 1,000 flights cancelled
- A police report said two drones were used by people with ‘detailed knowledge’
- Police received 129 sightings of drones, with 109 from ‘credible’ witnesses
The £800,000 police investigation into last year’s drone chaos at Gatwick has been closed with no further arrests.
They said there were no more ‘realistic lines of inquiry’. Two people were held in the aftermath of the three-day fiasco when 1,000 flights were disrupted affecting 140,000 passengers. But they were soon released without charge.
A police report said two drones were used by people with ‘detailed knowledge’ in illegal fly-bys of Gatwick which caused it to be shut down for 30 hours last December. Sussex Police received 129 sightings of drones, with 109 from ‘credible’ witnesses.
A police report said two drones were used by people with ‘detailed knowledge’ in illegal fly-bys of Gatwick which caused it to be shut down for 30 hours last December
Officers carried out 1,200 house-to-house inquiries and took 222 witness statements in the police operation which cost nearly £800,000.
A force spokesman said: ‘The incident was not deemed terror-related. No further arrests have been made.’
Assistant Chief Constable Dave Miller said: ‘Public safety was always at the forefront of our response. No aircraft was damaged or passenger injured.
‘We have carried out an exhaustive criminal investigation but…there are no further realistic lines of inquiry.’
Officers carried out 1,200 house-to-house inquiries and took 222 witness statements in the police operation which cost nearly £800,000