OK, having spoken with our good friend and colleague, Juanma de Haro, retired Ideal journalist and La Herradura resident, here is some news on what is happening in the bay.

First of all, these RIBs are not transporting drugs, but rather fuel. Such craft are illegal in Spain… but not in Portugal, which is where these petaqueos come from (as they are known in Spain).

Armed with four outboard motors with around 500 hp (V6 4.2-litre F225) they can out run anything that the Guardia Civil have afloat.

These refuelling craft provide fuel for the actual drug-running RIBs to make the return, high-speed journey, so what the Guardia are doing, is keeping a close eye on them. They are also keeping a close eye on beaches where drugs might be landed.

Andalucía has the SIVE network all along the coastline, with radar and powerful infra-red cameras, so they can see the drug RIBs coming, even at night.

In short, it’s not worth the waste of time and fuel pursuing the ‘milkcows’ (Milchkuh: WW2 Uboats used to refuel attack Uboats out at sea). As long as the crews in the RIBs know that the Guardia are watching them, they can’t carry out their function.

This doesn’t mean that they don’t go after them, because they do, but the thing is, it is not the case that the Guardia are sitting back and doing nothing.

(News: Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: Guardia Civil vs Narcos, Refueling RIBs, Drug Running, Bay, Milkcows, Fuel

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