George Mathias
A Gibraltarian HM Customs vessel has been badly damaged by an arsonist.
A small inflatable boat approached the HMC Seeker where an unknown person fired a flare directly towards the boat, hitting the starboard side with an explosion before firing a second one which narrowly missed the vessel.
The person then sped off in the boat.
The Royal Gibraltar Police was immediately informed of the incident and a forensics team was deployed to the scene, their investigation is ongoing.
Photo: HMG Gibraltar.
The incident occured on May 18 at 11pm.
The government of Gibraltar said: “The incident could have developed into a much more serious one had the targeted vessel caught fire and the blast impacted on other vessels or buildings in the area, likely resulting in injuries or worse. HM Government of Gibraltar and the Collector of Customs take a very serious view of this.”
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said: “Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar will not tolerate such attacks on our excellent law enforcement agents at HM Customs or criminal damage. The men and women of HM Customs have our full support in their work to find and punish the reckless criminals who committed these highly dangerous acts.”
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