A drug trafficker was killed and four others injured in southern Spain during a chase by the Civil Guard of their boat as part of an anti-narcotics operation, Spanish authorities reported on Sunday.
The Civil Guard explained that the chase occurred from Saturday night into Sunday when eight boats were spotted entering the mouth of the Guadalquivir River at full speed near the coastal city of Cadiz in Andalusia.
Authorities stated in a report that the Civil Guard, supported by a helicopter, pursued the drug traffickers “to prevent them from unloading their cargo.”
The statement added that “a boat equipped with four engines and loaded with drugs managed to dock, escorted by another boat guiding it,” but the helicopter “landed” immediately on the bank “next to them.”
The Civil Guard noted that the crew members “quickly fled aboard the larger boat, leaving behind 47 bales of hashish and the boat that was guiding them,” prompting the chase to resume.
The boat carrying the suspects then accelerated, causing it to crash “at full speed” into the riverbank.
The statement explained that the accident “caused the boat to overturn, resulting in the death of one of its passengers, while four others were injured to varying degrees.”
A total of 74 bales of hashish were found around the accident site, in addition to the 47 bales left on the bank where the boat initially docked, according to the Civil Guard.
This incident occurred seven months after two Civil Guard officers were killed when their boat collided with a fast drug smuggling boat during a chase in the port of Barbate, also in the province of Cadiz.
Units from the Spanish Customs and Civil Guard frequently intercept drug smuggling operations in the Bay of Cadiz.
Spain is considered one of the main entry points for drugs into Europe, particularly through the Andalusia region (southern Spain), due to its proximity to Morocco, where hashish is produced before being exported to Spain.
