Ten detained for shooting at Civil Guard patrol boat in Huelva, accused of piracy
Ten alleged drug traffickers face between 25 and 35 years in prison after opening fire on a Civil Guard patrol boat in waters off Huelva. Nearly six tonnes of hashish and two narco speedboats were seized.
Ten arrested for narco attack on Civil Guard in Huelva, also charged with piracy at sea
Ten alleged drug traffickers have been detained in record time after opening fire on a Civil Guard patrol boat in waters off Huelva, according to Google News ES — Crime (es), citing the newspaper El Mundo. The detainees face sentences that together could total between 25 and 35 years in prison for assault on law enforcement, attempted homicide, drug trafficking and, unusually, piracy at sea.
The attack took place in the early hours of 17 to 18 August, when the Civil Guard began pursuing a narco speedboat off the Huelva coast. During the pursuit, the occupants of the vessel executed "evasive and extremely dangerous manoeuvres, putting the lives of officers in serious jeopardy", according to case sources. The drug traffickers opened fire on the patrol boat, and Civil Guard officers responded to the shots to repel the attack. The narco speedboat initially managed to flee, but its occupants were located and arrested following a subsequent boarding.
The case will be investigated by the National Court. Along with the ten detainees, officers seized two narco speedboats and 5,926 kilograms of hashish, "dealing a significant blow to one of the criminal organisations operating in southern Spain", according to an assessment by the Civil Guard. One of the drug traffickers suffered injuries that were not serious; he was abandoned by his companions and detained after receiving medical attention at a hospital in Puerto Real.
Piracy: a novel crime in Spanish drug trafficking
The piracy charge is exceptional in drug trafficking cases in Spain. The crime is set out in Article 616 ter of the Penal Code, which punishes with between ten and fifteen years in prison anyone who, "with violence, intimidation or deception, seizes, damages or destroys an aircraft, ship or other type of vessel or platform at sea, or else attacks persons, cargo or goods that are on board the same". Case sources indicate that this is one of the first times that traffickers who open fire on officers have been charged under this criminal statute.
A Civil Guard officer involved in operations against drug trafficking in the province was emphatic: "We are going to go all out against the narco in Huelva."
Huelva, epicentre of narco violence
The attack on the patrol boat is not the only serious incident recorded in the area in recent hours. With barely 24 hours between them, masked gunmen shot dead two women and a minor in the street in Isla Cristina, in a settling of scores linked to feuds between clans involved in drug trafficking. The weapons used in that shooting have already been located, and a large-scale operation continues to find the perpetrators, who fled on motorcycles.
Experts in organised crime warn about the level of violence being displayed by narco networks in Huelva. In the case of the maritime attack, the traffickers did not hesitate to shoot at officers to protect a shipment of hashish, a substance of lower value than cocaine. According to these sources, the clans in the province have stopped distinguishing between types of drugs when resorting to extreme violence.
AUGC alerts to lack of resources
The Unified Association of Civil Guards (AUGC) has alerted this Saturday to the "maximum risk" faced by professionals in the Maritime Service. "Narco aggression will not stop us, but we need resources and personnel. We also recall that this effort must be recognised: we are the ones who work the most hours and earn the least", a spokesman for the association declared.
The AUGC also stressed that Civil Guard officers do not have the same shifts as the National Police, nor the 35-hour working weeks enjoyed by the Armed Forces and other public employees. Sources from the Armed Institute indicated to El Mundo that Civil Guard officers at the Huelva Command are carrying out an "enormous personal effort, working extra hours" beyond what they are supposed to in order to tackle drug trafficking in the province.
The investigation into the ten detainees has been placed in the hands of the National Court, whilst the operation to locate those responsible for the triple murder in Isla Cristina continues.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)