A DRUG-RUNNING speedboat rammed a Spanish customs vessel off the Almeria coast in the latest violent ‘narcolancha’ incident to rock Andalucia.
In the early hours of Friday 15 May, the narco speedboat collided with a customs vessel off the coast of Almeria.
The customs vessel was pursuing a fleet of six narco speedboats when one of them reportedly suffered engine trouble.
As officers moved in, another narcolancha rammed the patrol boat, preventing authorities from apprehending the suspected drug-traffickers.
Although no officers were injured, the customs vessel sustained damage and the suspected drug traffickers fled the scene.
It comes less than a week after two Guardia Civil officers died off the Costa de la Luz while chasing another suspected narco speedboat.
The two officers, German Perez and Jeronimo Jimenez, were chasing a suspected ‘narcolancha’ off the coast of Huelva on 8 May when two Guardia Civil vessels collided.
Perez, 55, is understood to have died on impact while Jimenez, 56, later died from his injuries at a hospital in Jerez de la Frontera near Cadiz.
The incidents underscored the growing dangers faced by customs and Guardia Civil officers as drug traffickers intensify operations along Spain’s southern coast.
Responding to the incidents, Andalucian President, Juanma Moreno of the People’s Party (PP) said: “It is a disgrace that drug trafficking is running rampant along the 900km of the Andalusian coast.”
“These are not workplace accidents, they are murders,” he continued.
His comments come after the PSOE’s secretary general in Andalucia, Maria Jesus Montero, drew criticism after describing the deaths as ‘workplace accidents’.
In response, Jorge Samblas, spokesperson for the JUSVA union which represents customs officers, has called for better protections.
He called for the force to be classified as a high-risk profession, arguing that officers put their lives on the line every day for salaries of just €1,600 a month.
Samblas also requested an urgent meeting with officials from the Ministry of Finance to address what he described as the force’s precarious working conditions.
He said officers are ill-equipped to confront increasingly sophisticated drug-trafficking gangs, citing limited body armour, inadequate weaponry and small speedboats.
“We need professional equipment that guarantees our safety,” he said, “Without proper equipment tragedies happen, as we saw with our two colleagues in the Civil Guard, and we hope it will never happen again,” he said.
The incidents comes two years after two officers were killed off the coast of Barbate when a drug-running speedboat rammed their vessel, once again highlighting the risks faced in pursuing narco speed boats.
Juanma Moreno, along with unions and other authorities, has called for greater funding and stronger protections to address the growing presence of drug traffickers along Andalucia’s coastline.
Click here to read more Crime & Law News from The Olive Press.
