John Culatto
AN empty boat was located floating in Gibraltar waters on Thursday night by the marine section of the Customs.
The rigid-hull inflatable boat was reportedly carrying ten possible migrants but when Customs officers turned up they found it to be empty.
The Customs got the tip-off from the Algeciras Guardia Civil who informed them of the vessel approaching Eastern Beach early on Friday morning.
HMS Seeker sped to the scene where they met up with the Guardia Civil boat but only found the five metre RHIB floating by itself.
They then searched the surrounding area with the help of the police but could not find the crew.
Smugglers smothered
In a separate incident, a car loaded with tobacco with tobacco was seized after a high speed chase.
The first suspicions were raised when the car was driving out of Halifax Road near the cemetery at around 2am on Friday morning.
When the driver was challenged by Customs officers he sped away and drove off at high speed.
The Customs gave chase but even with the help of another patrol car they were unable to stop the suspected smuggler.
He raced to British Lines Road, jumped the fence and escaped into Spain abandoning his car in the process.
Inside it Customs officers found 300 cartons of cigarettes which were confiscated along with the car itself.
Investigations continue for both incidents.
