Ten arrested after shooting attack on Civil Guard patrol vessel in Huelva
A drug-trafficking gang opened fire on a patrol vessel during the early hours of 17 to 18 August off the coast of Huelva. The operation resulted in ten arrests and the seizure of almost six tonnes of hashish.
Ten arrested after shooting attack on Civil Guard patrol vessel in Huelva waters
Ten members of a criminal organisation involved in drug trafficking have been arrested as suspected perpetrators of the shooting attack carried out against a patrol vessel of the Huelva Provincial Maritime Service during the early hours of 17 to 18 August. According to reports from Google News ES — Crime (es), the operation also made it possible to seize two drug-trafficking boats and 5,926 kilogrammes of hashish.
The Civil Guard and the Tax Agency described the outcome in a joint statement on Saturday as an "important blow" against one of the criminal organisations operating in the south of the Iberian peninsula.
The pursuit and the attack
The events began off the coast of Huelva when a Civil Guard patrol vessel, in coordination with a vessel from the Customs Surveillance Service, began to pursue a semi-rigid boat suspected of involvement in drug-trafficking activities.
During the pursuit, the occupants of the drug boat carried out evasive manoeuvres of extreme danger that placed the agents' lives in serious risk. They also threw part of the cargo into the sea with the aim of obstructing the navigation of the official vessels and causing damage to them.
The situation escalated when the occupants of the semi-rigid boat opened fire directly against the Civil Guard patrol vessel. The agents responded with several shots to repel the aggression. The drug traffickers' vessel managed to escape the pursuit following a breakdown that the patrol vessel suffered during the confrontation.
Coordinated assault three days later
The severity of the attack led the security forces to deploy a specific operation to locate the vessel, detain its occupants and recover any illegal cargo. The operation also involved the identification of possible support vessels.
After locating the drug boat at a new location, on 20 August a coordinated assault was executed on it and on a second vessel that was providing it with support on the high seas. The intervention concluded with the interception of both vessels, the seizure of 5,926 kilogrammes of hashish and the detention of nine crew members.
In parallel, agents located and arrested a tenth member of the organisation, who had been wounded by gunshot during the confrontation with the Civil Guard and who was abandoned by his own colleagues on the coast of Cádiz. The wounded man was subsequently transferred to a hospital in Puerto Real.
Investigation ongoing
The investigation remains open to determine with precision the participation of each detainee in the attack on the agents and to clarify the individual responsibilities within the criminal organisation.
The operation was carried out by the Huelva Provincial Maritime Service, the Special Intervention Unit (UEI), the Organic Judicial Police Unit (UOPJ) of Huelva, the Regional Centre for Analysis and Intelligence against Drug Trafficking (CRAIN) and the Customs Surveillance Service (DAVA), under the direction of the Central Court of First Instance of the National Audience in its capacity as duty court.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)