A special counsel team investigating the December 3 martial law case has sought a warrant to detain the head of the Drone Operations Command.

The team, led by special counsel Cho Eun-suk, said Sunday in a notice to the press that it filed for the warrant for Kim Yong-dae based on crimes it has verified that constitute grounds to keep him in custody. 

The request came after the team arrested Kim without a warrant on Friday night, citing concerns that he presents a flight risk. 

The commander is alleged to have colluded with former President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun and others to deploy drones over Pyongyang and provoke a military response from North Korea. 

But the accused command chief denied the allegations, saying the drone operation had nothing to do with martial law and was a legitimate response to the North’s trash balloon provocations. 

The Seoul Central District Court is set to hold a warrant hearing at 3 p.m. Monday.