Tom Powell
THE two men captured in a joint operation by Gibraltar police and the Guardia Civil have been sentenced in court with a series of offences.
In a rare instance of cross-border co-operation both forces worked together to capture a suspected drug smuggling operation.
Spanish authorities requested help intercepting a suspicious vessel, 10 metre long and powered by twin 250 horsepower outboard engines, heading towards Europa Point.
The Guardia Civil had challenged the high performance sports vessel off the coast of Morocco and suspected that bales of cannabis resin had been thrown overboard.
A Gibraltar police vessel then intercepted the boat in British waters off Eastern Beach.
Jose Antonio Florido Guttierez, 49, from Chipiona, was charged with imported a prohibited object (the boat), obstructing a fast launch, the police and possession of 15.2 grammes of cannabis resin.
Meanwhile his accomplice, Jose Antonio Alvarez Garcia, 42, from La Linea, was charged with importing the prohibited boat too.
Both men pleaded guilty, Guttierez was fined £3,000 and Garcia £2,000.
The fines seem very low
“The fines seem low” What, for a half-ounce of hash? Also illegal importation of a boat, which of course, had been forced into harbour by the police. It was a “suspected” smuggling operation. No proof, note.