Spain’s Guardia Civil police said on Sunday that they had detained the fourth and final member of a drug smuggling crew whose boat collided with a police patrol vessel during a high-speed chase last year, resulting in the deaths of two officers.
The deadly incident, which occurred in February 2024 in the harbour at Barbate, near the major southern port of Cádiz (Andalusia), also left two other officers injured. The area has seen repeated clashes between law enforcement and traffickers, along with significant narcotics busts.
‘Arrest of the last member of the crew of the drug trafficking boat used in the murder of two agents in Cadiz,’ the Guardia Civil said (see video link below).
‘With this arrest, all those responsible for the tragic events are now in the hands of the Spanish authorities,’ the statement added.
The case sparked public outrage in Spain, especially after dramatic video footage of the nighttime pursuit spread widely on social media.
Back in September 2024, police captured a 32-year-old man who, according to the interior ministry, was ‘directly responsible for the deaths.’ Two additional suspects were arrested two months afterward. ALSO READ: Guardia Civil arrest suspect of speedboat crash that killed 2 police officers.
Spain remains a key gateway for drugs entering Europe from North Africa.
Just days before those arrests, in late August 2024, another drug trafficker was killed in a separate boat chase with law enforcement, during an attempt to unload multiple bundles of hashish on the Guadalquivir River near Cadiz.
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ALSO READ: Eight arrested after two Guardia Civil officers killed in drug boat chase.
#OperacionesGC | Detenido el último tripulante de la narcolancha utilizada en el asesinato de dos agentes de la Guardia Civil en Barbate #Cádiz.
— Guardia Civil (@guardiacivil) May 4, 2025
▶️ Este trágico suceso, en el que también resultaron heridos 4 agentes, tuvo lugar el 9 de febrero de 2024 en la bocana del puerto del… pic.twitter.com/xhhdJJrNDv
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