The leisure vessel was detected by the SIVE vigilance system yesterday.

A major haul of 2.6 tons of cannabis resin took place yesterday off the Mazarrón coastline, following the detection of a suspicious recreation boat by the SIVE coastal vigilance protection system.

SIVE is an extensive vigilance system, which is able to detect marine movements within Spanish waters, and works in conjunction with the Guardía Civil and the marine customs units, to detect and apprehend suspicious traffic off our coastline.

There are radar units positioned along the coast, including one which is stationed at the Castillitos Military Battery, which many readers will have seen whilst visiting "the guns" near to La Azohía.

The system is also supported by aerial vigilance spotter planes. 

Yesterday a suspicious leisure vessel was detected and a patrol from the Servicio Marítimo of the Guardia Civil sent to inspect the vessel, intercepting it near to the Puntas de Calnegre in Mazarrón. 

Boarding the vessel, the patrol discovered it was stuffed full of drugs, 88 packages containing 2.6 tons of cannabis resin.

The two men on board the boat were both Spanish, and from Almería, one of them with previous form for a smuggling related crime.

The boat was taken into Mazarrón and unloaded in the fishing port.

One of the old local fishermen who watched the unloading of the vessel said that from time to time one of these "pillows" appears in the nets of the fishing fleet, usually jettisoned by smugglers who have been spotted by a customs patrol, although one of the police unloading the cargo said that he couldn´t recall hearing of any reports of thousands of euros worth of cannabis resin turning up in a fishing net....

 

Investigations are underway to ascertain whether the boat was loaded out at sea, or had travelled loaded from Morocco.

The two men have been placed at the disposition of the Totana courts.

 

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