Spanish Police Rescue and Arrest Moroccan Drug Smugglers After High-Seas Chase

The three suspects were trying to escape the Civil Guard agents when, following a wrong maneuver, they were ejected from their boat, leaving the engine running. Faced with this situation, the agents had to use their weapons to shoot at the engine from their patrol boat. After the forced stop of the vessel, the suspects were rescued and then transferred to the port of Barbate to receive first aid, before being arrested for the alleged offenses of smuggling, disobedience and resistance, reports El Confidencial.

Their boat, which was sailing about 13 miles south of Cabo Trafalgar, in the municipality of Barbate, was located on Saturday on the cameras of the Integrated External Surveillance Service (SIVE) of the Civil Guard Command of Cadiz.

In recent hours, a network of Moroccan hashish traffickers has been dismantled. According to the investigation opened by the organized crime fighting team (ECO) of the Central Operational Unit (UCO) based in Malaga, as well as the Coordination Body for Anti-Drug Operations (OCON-Sur) and the Regional Center for Analysis and Intelligence against Drugs (Crain), the criminal group is composed of people of various nationalities who would consider acquiring "a significant quantity of hashish in Morocco for their subsequent transfer to Spain by various means".