Traffickers’ reaction to police “becoming increasingly more aggressive”
For the third time in a week authorities along the Algarve coast found themselves pursuing drug traffickers in a high speed powerboat yesterday. But this time, a second boat, involved in picking up bales of hashish dropped by the first, went in pursuit of the launch piloted by police, ramming it at high speed and sending two agents flying into the water. Two others onboard suffered injuries and were airlifted to hospital.
Authorities managed nonetheless to detain three traffickers in the boat that had dropped the hashish – as well as seize the various bales dropped into the sea.
The boat that ‘rammed’ maritime police however escaped.
Reports talk of heightened activity along the habitual routes into southern Europe from Morocco over the last couple of months, and ‘increasing aggression’ when it comes to boats being detected.
Says SIC television news, the last week has seen authorities detained 16 people in drug trafficking operations south of the Algarve coast: “Without taking into account the number of bales apprehended on Saturday night, they seized more than 13 tonnes of hashish between the previous Saturday and last Thursday”.
