On the 30th floor of the Chartered Square building in downtown Bangkok, the low-key office of Skyhub Technologies serves as a nexus for a burgeoning and contentious trade.
The space, rented out by a serviced office provider, is visited only rarely by the company¡¯s sole director and occasionally by Chinese nationals, according to building staff who asked not to be identified speaking about clients. No contact number is listed on its online registration documents. No one was available during a visit in late January.
Despite the appearance of inactivity, this is a busy conduit for advanced drones. Trade documents show that Skyhub Technologies is Thailand¡¯s second-biggest importer of unmanned aerial vehicles from China. Where they go from there isn¡¯t recorded, even though the bulk of drones imported into the country are re-exported to Russia ¡ª a perfectly legal trade.
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