Andalucía president tells PM: bring back the specialist anti-drug trafficking unit before more die

Moreno said the disbandment of the elite unit four years ago had coincided with an increase in the activity of drug trafficking mafias and clans. In a letter to prime minister Pedro Sánchez, he also warned that security forces lacked the resources needed to effectively tackle the growing threat.

According to a statement issued by the Junta de Andalucía, Moreno told Sánchez he was concerned that Andalucía had become a "base of operations" for a range of drug trafficking networks.

"We're no longer talking about one particular area. The entire coastline and parts of the interior are now being targeted by drug traffickers," Moreno said.

"We've become all too familiar with the sight of drug trafficking boats operating and taking refuge, for example, in the Guadalquivir riverbed, in broad daylight."

Moreno said drug trafficking activity was becoming increasingly intense and was accompanied by increasingly violent behaviour. He described the fight against drugs in Andalucía as a matter of "the utmost seriousness", arguing that the repeated nature of such incidents was making people feel increasingly unsafe and allowing criminals to act with apparent impunity. He said the violence had already claimed the lives of both civilians and members of the security forces.

"Last Saturday, a man was murdered in Utrera following a shooting. Just one day later, three people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant, a 62-year-old woman and a minor, were also murdered in Isla Cristina," Moreno said.

"I also want to remember David, Miguel Ángel, Germán and Jerónimo, the four Guardia Civil officers who have been killed on duty in Barbate and Huelva over the past two years while trying to fight this scourge. We're facing an escalation in insecurity that requires a forceful response from the state."

Moreno therefore called for OCÓN-Sur to be reactivated. The specialist Guardia Civil unit operated in Andalucía until it was dismantled four years ago and, according to the Andalusian president, proved effective in containing the criminal organisations involved in drug trafficking.

He argued that its disappearance had encouraged an increase in drug-related crime across the region. "Most experts agree that the disappearance of this unit marked a turning point in the increase in the activity of mafias and criminal clans," he said.

Moreno also highlighted growing concerns over the resources available to officers fighting drug trafficking. "There's a growing sense of frustration over the lack of resources available to officers to face this challenge on equal terms," he said.

"Time and events have shown that dismantling OCÓN-Sur was a mistake which, unfortunately, is having serious consequences for both our officers and our citizens."

The Andalusian president also stressed the wider social consequences of drug trafficking, saying criminal networks exploited the most disadvantaged sections of society by drawing them into support, supply and drug distribution networks. "In addition to the problems of insecurity and public health, drug trafficking presents another challenge that we must address," he said.

Moreno said it was "necessary and urgent" to strengthen the response and provide sufficient resources to combat the criminal organisations so that people could feel safe in the face of the recent increase in violence.