Narco boats return to Granada's Costa Tropical as storms hinder police
The Guardia Civil had sightings around La Herradura on Sunday 9 February and is carrying out operations in the sea and on land
Narco-boats have returned to La Herradura, on Granada province's Costa Tropical, where they have become a familiar presence in recent weeks.
More than six semi-rigid boats prowl the coastline every day and four were spotted on Sunday 8 February. The Guardia Civil is carrying out operations in the sea and on land but has not made any arrests as yet.
According to witnesses who have been seen the boats in recent days they move around areas including Punta de la Mona, very close to the Marina del Este marina; the Cerro Gordo point; and the Berenguel inlet, in the vicinity of Las Higueritas - an enclave where fishermen take shelter from storms.
The first alert came on the morning of Wednesday 4 February, when two semi-rigid boats, which are often used by drug trafficking networks, were detected near the coast of La Herradura and the Guardia Civil activated a surveillance device.
One of these boats ended up stranded on the shore, apparently dragged by the strong waves and was removed by officers. There was no one inside, but there were several bottles of fuel. The second boat remained at sea, under the control of the officers, without any arrests being made.
The situation was repeated the following day. On Thursday, three more narco-boats appeared in the area of Punta de la Mona, very close to the Marina del Este marina. On Friday, three more boats appeared again in the Cerro Gordo area off La Herradura beach.
The storms that have been battering the Andalusian coast in recent days, bringing strong winds and large waves, have made it difficult for the Guardia Civil to work at sea and the maritime service unit's boats have been unable to go out.
The town hall is particularly concerned about the image of La Herradura as it is heavily dependent on tourism. However, they insist that beyond the negative impact on the image of the destination, the most serious aspect is the risk to safety. "We cannot wait for a disaster to happen before we react. The safety of the local residents and the lives of the officers themselves are at stake," said the mayor, Juanjo Ruiz Joya.
