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Date Published: 31/08/2021
ARCHIVED - Impressive use of police resource; officers intercept 2 tons of hashish whilst rescuing illegal immigrants at sea
The drugs were discovered as the Maritime Service rescued a group of irregular immigrants from the Region’s waters
An impressive operation in the early hours of Saturday morning, August 28 saw the Guardia Civil in Cartagena not only intercept a small boat carrying several migrants but also seize 2,200 kilos of hashish at the same time. It all began when officers from the Provincial Maritime Service of Murcia were carrying out the rescue of a patera – a small migrant vessel – and spotted an inflatable boat nearby that was behaving suspiciously.
When officers searched the boat, they discovered about 60 bales containing the drugs and arrested the two crew members for drug trafficking crimes. Officials believe the narcotics were transported to the Region from Morocco.
The agents then had the difficult task of towing the inflatable boat, which was weighed down by the narcotics and almost sank on several occasions, back to shore while simultaneously delivering the migrants safely to the Escombreras dock. There they were met by members of the Red Cross who carried out the routine health and Covid tests before being processed by the National Police.
The Guardia Civil took charge of the inflatable boat’s crew, both Spanish men aged 34 and 38 from La Union.
Image: Guardia Civil
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