Two arrested following death of Portuguese police officer struck by suspected drug-trafficking boat on border with Spain

The investigation by the Portuguese national republican guard (GNR) and Spain's Guardia Civil has led to the arrest of two perpetrators allegedly involved in the death of a Portuguese police officer after he was rammed by a suspected narco-boat in cross-border waters of the Guadiana river. Guardia Civil sources have confirmed to Europa Press the arrest of these two people, noting that one of them is a Spanish national. One of those arrested was allegedly the crew member of the narco-boat and the second was driving the vehicle in charge of supporting the boat on land.

The Guardia Civil in Huelva and the Portuguese national guard had maintained an extensive operation to locate the crew members of a narco-boat that rammed a patrol boat on Monday night in cross-border waters of the Guadiana river, between Huelva and Portugal, causing the death of a GNR officer and injuring three members of the same police force.

According to the police on Tuesday, the Guardia Civil sighted the drug boat off the coast of Huelva, and provided the information to the Portuguese police authorities, who, due to the proximity of their patrol boat, approached the area and waited until the arrival of the support of the provincial maritime service of Huelva.

The incident happened at around 11.15pm (local time) in the Alcoutim area of the Faro district. Security forces acted after receiving an alert about a speeding boat on the river, which led to a collision resulting in the death of Corporal Pedro Silva.

The boat was found in flames a couple of kilometres from the place of impact, while the crew members fled. GNR sources quoted by the Lusa news agency said that, given the characteristics of the boat and the speed at which it was travelling, the main hypothesis is that it may be linked to drug trafficking. The Portuguese judicial police have taken charge of the investigations.