FOUR people have been arrested after a dramatic maritime operations involving high-speed chases, crashed boats and suspects jumping into the sea in desperate escape attempts.
Officers say the fuel was being used to supply narco-boats and migrant trafficking vessels operating in international waters.
The largest operation unfolded near El Gorguel beach in Murcia, where surveillance systems detected a suspicious vessel racing towards open sea at high speed.
The Guardia Civil Maritime Service intercepted the 13-metre semi-rigid boat, which was loaded with 136 jerrycans containing around 3,400 litres of gasoline.
The vessel, equipped with three powerful outboard engines, allegedly ignored orders to stop and attempted to flee.
During the chase, the boat slammed into a fish farm cage and became stranded.
Two of the three crew members then jumped into the sea to escape.
One suspect was rescued suffering symptoms of hypothermia before being arrested, while another vanished despite a large-scale search involving Maritime Rescue teams.
Investigators later discovered the vessel had no registration or identifying markings.
Inside, officers also found satellite communication equipment, positioning devices and provisions for several days at sea.
Policia believe the boat was being used for ‘petaqueo’, the illegal practice of refuelling drug trafficking vessels at sea.
Authorities say these floating fuel boats often spend days waiting in international waters for instructions from organised crime networks.
The two detained men in Murcia are accused of smuggling and offences against public safety linked to transporting highly flammable fuel without safety measures.
Environmental investigators are also examining whether fuel spills from the operation may have caused ecological damage.
Meanwhile, on the coast of Huelva, officers seized a further 347 jerrycans containing around 8,675 litres of fuel.
Two more people were arrested during separate raids linked to the same illegal fuel supply networks.
The operations in Huelva also resulted in the seizure of five boats allegedly used to transport fuel to narco-speedboats.
In Isla Cristina, officers discovered another stash of fuel containers abandoned aboard a recreational vessel after suspects fled the scene.
At the Mazagon breakwater, authorities intercepted a grounded semi-rigid boat carrying 130 fuel canisters.
The latest raids form part of an intensifying crackdown on organised drug trafficking networks operating along southern Spain’s coastline.
The Guardia Civil says it has already dismantled two criminal groups in recent weeks linked to the same fuel smuggling operations.
Those earlier investigations led to around 20 arrests and the seizure of weapons, boats, cash and more than 8,000 litres of gasoline.
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