One of the officers receiving the award. sur

Gibraltar officers rewarded by Guardia Civil for cross-border police cooperation

Two officers from the Royal Gibraltar Police force have been awarded the Order of Merit by Spain’s Guardia Civil for their cross-frontier work in money laundering and drug trafficking operations

Monday, 11 October 2021, 13:41 | Updated 14:46h.

Chief Inspector Sean Perera and Detective Inspector Craig Goldwin were presented with the Order of Merit in Tarifa on Sunday, as part of the celebrations for the Virgen del Pilar, the patron saint of the Guardia Civil.

The two officers received special praise for their involvement in a number of international operations carried out in 2019, which targeted members of a high profile Spanish crime syndicate which was trying to use Gibraltar to carry out some of its money laundering operations and as a hiding place, out of reach of the Guardia Civil.

Following other operations by the Guardia Civil in Spain, 103 people from this group were arrested, including all the senior members, and a number of high value assets were seized.

Chief Inspector Perera and Detective Inspector Goldwin were involved in a range of activities in the cross-border operation including intelligence-gathering, searches, arrests and the extradition of several individuals from Gibraltar to Spain.

It should be noted that the approval for these awards to be presented to the Gibraltarian officers was given by Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, making this a truly historic occasion.