The local police of The Campello(Alicante) this morning foiled the theft of a powerful boat in the marina and arrested two individuals from Maghreb origin that they “intended to use it to transport drugs and people,” the council reported in a statement.
This is an operation of the night patrols of the local police of El Campello carried out on Sunday around 1:30 in the morning. At that time, a phone call was received at the Police Headquarters from a sailor of the Yacht club which warned of the “strange presence” of two men on the ground floor of a well-known restaurant, crouching next to bushes and carefully observing the moored boats.
When police arrived, a sailor from the Yacht Club beach bar reported that a man had entered a boat and was attempting to manipulate it. The two detainees allegedly entered the Club’s pontoons by climbing over the protective fencing. Patrols organized a police cordon around the port facilities.
One of the alleged thieves fled south and another north, but both were neutralized, arrested and handed over to the police. Civil Guardwho joined the operation, as reported by the council.
A third man, who was carrying a mobile phone with which he gave instructions and carried out surveillance, managed to escape. The Civil Guard is now carrying out its own identification, location and arrest tasks.
It turns out that the Port of El Campello In recent months, it has suffered several thefts of high-powered boats capable of reaching high speeds. According to the municipality, this network would be dedicated to the transport of drugs and people from Algeria to the Spanish coast.
By law, boats over eight metres in length and with a power of 200 horsepower must Spain have special permits from customs and the Treasury, as they are considered objects of transport of people and drugs.
Thefts in ports to avoid controls
This is why these networks choose to steal them in the ports themselves and not transport them by road, because the Civil Guard would demand documents that they do not have.
The boat they wanted to steal, which is very long, has two engines that total 600 horsepowercapable of making the journey from the Algerian or Moroccan coasts to Alicante in a minimum of four to five hours. A high-end vehicle was also seized.
