فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
A suspected drug trafficker died on Monday evening off the southern coast of Spain following a boat chase with agents involved in a drug surveillance operation, the Civil Guard reported on Tuesday.
According to a spokesperson for the Civil Guard, the chase began shortly before 10 PM when a suspicious vessel was spotted 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) from the coast, near the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, close to the Andalusian city of Cadiz.
There were four people on board the boat, which was equipped with three engines and loaded with large packages. During the interception, one of them, a 23-year-old Moroccan, fell into the water.
The agents threw him a rope and then a life buoy, and one of them jumped into the water to attempt a rescue. However, the young man “refused their help” and died at the scene despite efforts to revive him.
During the operation, another suspected trafficker was injured and hospitalized. The other two passengers were placed in provisional detention.
According to the Civil Guard, between 600 and 700 kilograms of drugs were recovered from the vessel. The exact nature of these substances was not known as of Tuesday morning.
The mouth of the Guadalquivir River is frequently the scene of chases between drug traffickers and authorities. It is considered one of the main entry points for drugs into Europe due to its proximity to Morocco, where cannabis resin is produced.
On November 13, another trafficker had already died in this area after a collision between a Civil Guard boat and his “narcolancha,” a vessel typically equipped with radar and night vision devices.
On September 1, another trafficker lost his life when his boat, carrying about a hundred bales of hashish, crashed at full speed into the bank of the Guadalquivir while attempting to flee from the Civil Guard.
A year ago, an anti-drug operation resulted in the deaths of two Civil Guard officers who were killed during a collision with a drug-laden boat in Cadiz province. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska had then promised “zero impunity” against drug trafficking in the region.
