The Guardia Civil and the Tax Agency’s Customs Surveillance Service arrested six people in a joint operation as alleged perpetrators of smuggling, more precisely, piloting the drug refuelling RIBS.
The investigation began in early February, when several illegal RIBS, commonly known as narco-boats, sought refuge on the coastline of Almuñécar-La Herradura due to a severe storm affecting the coast of Granada.
Locals were far from happy how these RIBs hung about in La Herradura Bay with apparent impunity, complaining that the authorities were doing little to nothing to apprehend them.
However, the Guardia Civil and the Vigilancia Aduanera de La Agencia Tributaria, were doing something and had managed to identify the suspects and having done that, established a link between them and drug & people-smuggling clans.
The RIBS stuck close to the cliffs in the lee of the prevailing gale-force winds, which made it both difficult and dangerous to approach them, so the police concentrated on tracking them from the land, waiting for them to link up with contacts on the land.
Consequently, during these surveillance operations, officers saw a van entering the Marina del Este Marina after breaking through the facility’s entry barrier. The van drove to one of the docks, where one of the waiting RIBs sheltered off the coast and approached to refuel.
The two occupants of the van were immediately identified, although there was not yet enough evidence at that time to link them to criminal activity.
The following morning, the same van returned to the port to carry out another refuelling operation for a different RIB. This time, the individuals involved were caught in the act by officers during the fuel transfer. Upon noticing the police presence, they hastily abandoned the van, jumped from the dock onto the boat, and fled by sea to avoid arrest.
Officers seized the vehicle used for refuelling and its cargo, which consisted of 52 fuel containers of 25 litres each. The forensic inspection of the van yielded new evidence that proved vital in identifying another member of the group.
Furthermore, the analysis of video surveillance footage obtained from various businesses and points of interest in the area helped establish the involvement of three other individuals.
Finally, with the evidence accrued during the operation, officers managed to identify and arrest six members of the drugs gang.
Three of the arrests took place on the 4th of June in Algeciras (Cádiz), while the remaining three arrests were carried out on June the 9th in Almuñécar. The six arrested suspects are aged between 20 and 54.
(News: Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)
Keywords: Drug Smuggler Arrests, RIB, Bay, Marina del Este, Refuelling, Van, Algerciras
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