The far-right VOX congressman for Granada, Jacobo Robatto, has criticised the shortage of manpower and resources with which the Guardia Civil must confront drug trafficking mafias on the Costa Tropical.

For this reason he has registered a series of questions for the Government to answer. He spoke with the Unified Association of Guardia Civil (AUGC), which has denounced the shortage of patrol boats and the lack of skippers that forces agents to carry out 12-hour shifts on the out to sea, which reduces their capacity to respond to operational demands.

“Likewise, there is a need to address the problem of petaqueo (the supply of gasoline out to sea to refuel craft that traffic drugs), which in the current legal system is punished as an administrative sanction and not as a crime.

Given this scenario, an increase in manpower and greater provision for resources in Granada is required with the incorporation of a helicopter, explained the VOX Congressman.

“The mafias are increasingly better organised and have sufficient economic capacity to have the most advanced means to carry out their criminal activities, while the Guardia Civil, as is sadly often seen, has to face these criminals with fewer human and material resources,” he continued.

Congressman Robatto reiterated that the Guardia Civil needs the means to combat drug running on the coast without putting their own lives at risk – not long ago several officers lost their lives when their zodiac was run down by a much more powerful craft crewed by drug smugglers.

He concluded with, “It is unacceptable that mafias trafficking of drugs and illegal-immigrant are increasingly better organised and with better resources, whilst the Government continues to fail at providing a strong response to one of the most pressing security problems in our society.”

His questions for the Prime Minister are:

A) How many skippers are needed in the Granada Guardia Civil to be able to man the launches that they have at their disposal?
B) Do the launches that are currently available for service in Almería and Granada meet the technical and operational specifications to deal with the craft used by drug-trafficking and criminal organisations dedicated to petaqueo?
C) Will the Government provide the Guardia Civil with the human and material resources to deal with the threat posed by drug trafficking, as well as other criminal organisations linked to it?

(News: Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Guardia Civil, Drug Trafficking, Illegal-Immigrant Smugglers, Manpower, Equipment

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