Watch: High-speed Boat Chase in Gibraltar – One suspected petrol smuggler is arrested, but his accomplices escape dramatically – CSN

GIBRALTAR Customs arrested a suspected fuel smuggler after a dramatic chase at high speed near Catalan Bay on Friday evening.

The suspect was located in the Catalan Bay reclamation site shortly before midnight, March 28, wearing waterproof clothes and smelling strongly like petrol. 

HM Customs Officers at the Outfield Station caught him as he tried to evade them.

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The pursuit started at around 11.50pm, when Windmill Hill Signal Station alerted the patrol vessel HMC Searcher about a suspicious rigid hulled inflatable (RHIB), spotted near Catalan Bay reclamation. 

The Customs vessel responded immediately, rushing to the scene and alerting Outfield Station so that additional officers could be deployed to the area.

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HMC Searcher was able to track down the suspect vessel at 11.58pm. A high-speed chase with blue lights had been initiated. 

The RHIB, a vessel that was transporting an alleged large shipment of gasoline, managed to escape British Gibraltar Territorial Waters as well as the grips of a recently upgraded customs vessel.

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The suspect was brought to Four Corners for a thorough search, before being turned over to Royal Gibraltar Police.

The incident highlights HMC Searcher’s effectiveness. This aircraft recently received a new refit that included high-performance engine upgrades to increase its speed. 

These upgrades seem to have been successful in maintaining Gibraltar’s water security.