The Guardia Civil and the Customs Surveillance Service (SVA) of the Tax Agency have reported this Saturday the arrest of ten members of a criminal organization dedicated to drug trafficking, as allegedly responsible for the attack with firearms suffered by a patrol boat of the Provincial Maritime Service of the Civil Guard of Huelva. The operation has also resulted in the intervention of two narco-boats and 5,926 kilograms of hashish, as indicated in a statement by both organizations.
The events took place in the early hours of August 17 to 18 off the coast of Huelva, when a Civil Guard patrol boat, in coordination with a Customs Surveillance Service vessel, began the pursuit of a semi-rigid suspected of being involved in drug trafficking work.
The crew members of the ‘narco-boat’ have carried out numerous evasive and extremely dangerous maneuvers, which have put the lives of the agents at risk. The members of the organization have also thrown part of the cargo into the sea to make it difficult for the authorities to navigate and try to cause damage to them.
The occupants of the semi-rigid have opened fire on the Civil Guard patrol boat and the agents have responded with several shots to repel the aggression and contain the danger. The boat has managed to flee due to a breakdown of the patrol boat caused during the chase.
SPECIFIC DEVICE
The agents have deployed a specific device to locate the boat, arrest its crew members and recover any illegal cargo, in addition to identifying possible support boats that could come to its aid.
After locating the boat in a new location, during the morning of August 20, a coordinated assault was carried out on it and on a second ‘narco-boat’ that was providing support on the high seas. The operation has culminated in the interception of both boats, the seizure of 5,926 kilos of hashish and the arrest of nine crew members.
At the same time, the agents have located and arrested a tenth member of the organization, who has been wounded by bullets during the clashes with the Civil Guard and has been abandoned by his own colleagues on the coast of Cádiz. The injured man has subsequently been transferred to a hospital in Puerto Real.
The investigation is still open to fully clarify the participation of the detainees in the attack on the agents and to determine the responsibilities of each of the members of the criminal organization.
The operation has been carried out by the Provincial Maritime Service of Huelva, the Special Intervention Unit (UEI), the Organic Unit of the Judicial Police (UOPJ) of Huelva, the Regional Center for Analysis and Intelligence against Drug Trafficking (CRAIN) and the Customs Surveillance Service (DAVA), and has been directed by the Central Court of Instance of the National Court in guard functions.
