Andalusia Demands Government Reactivate OCON-South Anti-Narcotics Unit
Moreno warns in letter to Sánchez that Andalusia has become operational base for drug gangs. He demands reactivation of elite police unit dismantled four years ago.
Andalusia Calls on State to Restore Elite Civil Guard Unit Against Drug Mafias
Google News ES — Crime reports that the Junta de Andalucía has formally demanded that the central Government reactivate OCON-South, the specialised Civil Guard unit dedicated to combating drug trafficking in the autonomous community, which was dismantled four years ago.
The president of the Junta, Juanma Moreno, has sent a letter to the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, in which he conveys his "concern" about the advance of drug trafficking networks in Andalusia. "We are no longer talking about a particular region, but rather the entire coastline and parts of the interior are targets of drug traffickers," Moreno states in the letter. The Andalusian leader cited as an example the regular presence of narco-speedboats operating in the Guadalquivir river channel "in broad daylight".
Deaths of Civilians and Officers
Moreno enumerated in his letter a series of recent violent incidents to justify the urgency of his request. Last Saturday, a man was killed in Utrera in a shooting. A day later, three people—a woman eight months pregnant, another aged 62, and a minor—lost their lives in Isla Cristina in a new episode of violence linked to drug trafficking.
The Andalusian president also recalled four Civil Guard officers who died in the line of duty over the last two years: David, Miguel Ángel, Germán and Jerónimo, killed in Barbate and Huelva whilst combating drug trafficking. "We are facing a spiral of insecurity that requires a forceful response from the State," Moreno wrote.
The Dismantling of OCON-South Cited as an Error
The Junta considers that the closure of OCON-South was "a mistake" with serious consequences. According to Moreno, the majority of experts agree that the disappearance of that unit marked "a turning point in the increased activity of mafias and gangs". Whilst it was operational, the unit "proved effective in containing these mafias," the president emphasises in his letter.
Moreno added that among officers there is "a persistent complaint about the lack of resources they have to fight on equal footing against this challenge". The letter underscores that time and events have demonstrated the cost of the dismantling for both citizens and the security forces themselves.
Social Impact of Drug Trafficking
In addition to the public security dimension, the Andalusian president has pointed to the social component of the problem. In his letter, he warns that drug traffickers make use of "the most disadvantaged social strata" to integrate them into their support, supply and distribution networks. "It is necessary and urgent to take reinforcement measures and have sufficient resources to combat these criminal organisations, so that our citizens feel safe in the face of this surge in violence and to keep young people and vulnerable groups away from this terrible scourge," Moreno argues.
The Junta demands that the central Executive place at the disposal of the security forces the necessary resources to tackle criminal activity that, according to the letter, now extends across the entire Andalusian coastline and areas in the interior of the community.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)