SERIOUS SVA INCURSION AT SANDY BAY

Aug 9, 2015
2 min read

SERIOUS SVA INCURSION AT SANDY BAY

by by Brian Reyes

A Spanish customs vessel and helicopter chased a smuggler speedboat into Sandy Bay early Sunday morning and came to within metres of the shore, in a serious incident that is under investigation by the UK and Gibraltar governments. The chase had started in the Strait of Gibraltar but the smugglers turned into Sandy Bay and hit the submerged reef before beaching their vessel, with the Servicio deVigilancia Aduanera [SVA] in hot pursuit.

As a Spanish helicopter hovered low over the beached rigid-hulled inflatable boat, the SVA deployed a small dinghy and entered the sheltered lagoon in Sandy Bay and headed to the shore, a spokesman for the Royal Gibraltar Police told the Chronicle. The RGP had received a call about launch activity in Sandy Bay and deployed officers to the scene. Officers from HM Customswere also present. As the SVA crew tried to tow the smugglers' RHIB away, a local police officer jumped on board and cut the towline. The three occupants of the beached boat had already jumped ashore and tried to flee on foot. Police arrested two occupants of the RHIB, which was empty, the police spokesman added. The third man is believed to have escaped undetected. The incident is being urgently investigated by the British and Gibraltar governments, particularly in light of reports that the Spanish helicopter may have actually landed on the beach. “If it didn’t land, it was just a few metres off,” one senior source told the Chronicle. This was the most serious in a string of incursions over the past 12 hours. Yesterday afternoon, Guardia Civil officers boarded a Spanish pleasure boat just 300 metres off Eastern Beach. When they were challenged by the RGP, they argued that they were in Spanish waters and advised the Spanish occupants to ignore any instructions from the Gibraltarian officers. In a separate incident this morning, an SVA launch and a Spanish helicopter were involved in a dramatic chase just one nautical mile off Europe Point.