Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
A speedboat believed to be linked to drug trafficking landed on Las Palmerillas beach in Roquetas de Mar on Monday morning, triggering an emergency call at 8.40am and fresh complaints from Guardia Civil unions about shortages on the Almeria coast.
Andalusia’s 112 emergency service passed the alert to the Guardia Civil and the local police after receiving reports that a high-speed craft had reached the shoreline near the former carabineros barracks, between Aguadulce and Roquetas. Sources also placed the incident at Las Palmerillas.
Video circulating after the landing shows a dark, elongated boat close to the beach with several people on board. A second clip shows pale objects floating near the waterline, although the cargo itself is not visible in the images.
According to people familiar with the case, the craft may have been carrying a large quantity of fuel, but that has not been officially confirmed in the material seen by CNS.
Union pressure grows
The incident quickly reignited criticism from Guardia Civil associations, which have been warning for weeks about the pressure of narcotics activity along this stretch of coast. JUCIL said the landing underlined the need for more staff and tougher measures to deal with organised smuggling operations.
Víctor Vega Romero, the Almeria spokesman for AUGC, said the episode reinforced the union’s demand for more officers in the Fronteras specialist unit. He also questioned the recent change in the policing model in Roquetas, arguing that the town’s 20 kilometres of coastline needed more resources, not fewer.
Vega added that the Guardia Civil already has the SIVE coastal surveillance system, but said this was not enough on its own to stop repeated landings and offloading on local beaches.
Ongoing concern on the coast
The landing comes after a run of incidents along the same coastline that have fuelled concern among residents and officers about the role of beach landings in the wider drugs trade. Local sources cited by the original report said the area has repeatedly been used by high-speed boats.
At the time of publication, there had been no official statement on arrests or seizures linked to Monday’s landing. The incident remains under police attention.
