- New modus operandi: they rented a mooring point in a marina of the Mar Menor from where, supposedly, they sailed to Algeria
- They started the return trip with between 15 and 20 people on board, 10 of which were located on the Cartagena beaches of Calblanque, Cabo de Palos
- Minutes later, the Benemérita stopped the two crew members on their arrival at the port; and seized the semi-rigid boat of seven meters in length and an engine of 225 hp of power
August 17, 2023. The Civil Guard of the Region of Murcia, within the framework of the ‘Plan to combat illegal immigration’, has detained in Los Alcázares two people as alleged perpetrators of crimes against the rights of foreign citizens and smuggling, by introducing by sea 10 Algerian citizens, from their country of origin to the coasts of Cabo de Palos-Cartagena (Murcia).
The two brothers are credited with the alleged authorship of crimes against the rights of foreign citizens and smuggling; and after being brought to justice they have been imprisoned,
Operation ‘Mercuria’ began last month, when the Civil Guard found that two Algerian citizens, with French documentation, had rented a mooring point in a marina in the Marmenorian municipality of Los Alcázares, for which they paid in cash. The agents knew that the moored boat had an engine of 225 hp of power, usually used in high-speed boats dedicated to drug trafficking or the illegal transport of people and goods.
High speed pneumatic and semi-rigid boats
Royal Decree 16/2018, of 26 October, adopting certain measures to combat the illicit trafficking of persons and goods in relation to the vessels used, cites, among others, that pneumatic and semi-rigid vessels capable of being used for maritime navigation that have a case less than or equal to eight meters in length and that have a maximum power equal to or greater than 150 kv. They are considered a prohibited gender and therefore their possession is considered a crime of smuggling. The exclusion of its cataloguing as a prohibited genus requires, as a precondition, its registration in the Special Register of Operators of High Speed Pneumatic and Semi-rigid Vessels and its authorization of use.
La Benemérita, in collaboration with the Local Police of Los Alcázares, established a series of discreet vigilances around the suspects and the boat that were positive in detecting how the individuals sailed at night, entering the sea heading north of Africa.
That same morning, the Civil Guard located a similar boat sailing to the Murcian coast that was suspicious. Apparently, between 15 and 20 people were traveling on the boat, who were allegedly disembarked on a beach in the Cartagena municipality of Cabo de Palos.
While different patrols carried out a raid of the area to locate them, another surveillance device remained in the port of Los Alcázares, waiting for the supposed arrival of the boat.
The ‘Mercurian’ operation culminated in the location of 10 people, of Algerian nationality and undocumented, on the beaches of Calblanque; and, minutes later, with the arrest of the two suspects on their arrival in port.
They are two brothers, aged 20 and 30, of Algerian nationality and resident in France, who are alleged to have committed crimes against the rights of foreign citizens and smuggling.
The detainees, the seized vessel and the instructed proceedings have been placed at the disposal of the Court of Instruction of Cartagena, whose holder ordered the entry into prison of the arrested persons.