Laurence Dollimore
THESE are the two Guardia Civil officers who were last night killed when their patrol boat was rammed by a ‘narco launcher’ in southern Spain.
David Perez and Miguel Angel Gomez were attempting to detain the drug-trafficking vessel in the choppy waters of Barbate port in Cadiz.
Video footage shared online showed the narco boat trying to evade them as locals cheered them on from the shore.
Miguel, 39, from San Fernando, Cadiz, belonged to the specialist subaquatic GEAS force. He leaves behind a partner and their daughter.
David, 43, from Barcelona, belonged to the elite Rapid Action Force (GAR) and leaves behind a wife and two children, reports sources from the Guardia Civil.
His body will be transferred to Navarra, where his family will lay him to rest.
A third agent was also hospitalised in the incident but is now said to be out of danger, reports La Voz de Cadiz.
There have been a total of five arrests. Three men who were driving the narco launcher, aged 21,24 and 28.
They have prior convictions and are now facing homicide and other serious charges.
Meanwhile, two other men, also known to authorities, aged 34 and 54, have also been arrested.
They were believed to have been preparing to pick up the drivers of the vessel from the port.
It is believed that the rough seas brought on by Storm Karlotta yesterday were forcing drug boats to come to shore to take cover.
They usually remain in the high seas, where they collect their bales of hashish and other drugs before ferrying them to Spanish shores.
Interior Minister of Spain Fernando Grande-Marlaska visited the scene of the incident on Saturday morning.
But Guardia Civil groups are now calling for him to resign following the latest deaths.
They claim they have been demanding more resources to tackle the scourge of drug trafficking in the Campo de Gibraltar area for the past five years.
The Association of Guardia Civil Officers said it warned the government that it was only a matter of time before agents lost their lives in the ongoing war against drugs.
