A BRIT has been arrested after a chase on the open sea off Portugal’s Algarve, in which a speedboat carrying 3.7 tonnes of cocaine collided with one of the vessels pursuing it.
The boat’s pilot, a man from Algeciras, died during the operation on Sunday, October 11. Portuguese authorities said a second crew member, a Spaniard, was also arrested.
The narco boat was intercepted about 80 nautical miles south of Faro, roughly 150km off the coast.
According to Portugal’s National Maritime Authority, the crew ignored orders to stop. During the chase that followed, the speedboat made evasive manoeuvres and collided with one of the naval vessels.
Officers then found the Algeciras man seriously injured. He was moved to another boat for first aid and then airlifted by a Spanish rescue helicopter.
Medical staff confirmed his death during the evacuation.
Spanish police sources told Europa Sur that the dead man had been piloting the boat.
The operation, codenamed Mare Nostrum, followed a six-month investigation led by the drug trafficking unit of Portugal’s Judicial Police. It targeted a criminal gang suspected of smuggling large quantities of cocaine into Europe on high-speed boats.
Portugal’s navy and maritime police took part, alongside Italy’s Guardia di Finanza. They were supported by the Lisbon-based Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics, the Portuguese Air Force and Spain’s Guardia Civil.
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