Spain‘s largest police union has claimed the country has lost control in its war against drug traffickers after an officer was seriously injured in a gun battle with narcos in Sevilla.
The shootout erupted in the early hours of Saturday when National Police officers attempted to intercept a drug shipment inside an industrial warehouse in Isla Mayor, south of Sevilla, a city hugely popular with British tourists.
According to police sources, the traffickers opened fire with assault rifles, including AK-47s, as cops tried to enter.
One officer, a member of the elite Greco Tartesos anti-narcotics unit, was shot in the stomach and leg. He underwent surgery and remains in the hospital.
Spanish media say police seized 700kg of hashish and recovered two vehicles.
It comes after dramatic footage, said to have been recorded on Sunday, showed suspected drug smugglers in a boat being handed several containers of gasoline by others in two smaller vessels in Cardiz.
Cops shared the footage and wrote: ‘Drug traffickers unloading their cargo in broad daylight, with complete impunity.
‘Warning: Either they give us the resources to combat this crime, or this area of Spain will be taken over by drug traffickers.’ The statement continued: ‘They murder police officers with powerful speedboats, they shoot at us with military-grade weapons, they have better resources.’
In the aftermath of the shooting, Spain’s top National Police union, Jupol, called for the immediate resignation of the interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, accusing him of abandoning officers and allowing criminal gangs to thrive.
In a blistering statement, Jupol said: ‘The narco roams freely in Spain, the State has lost control in the fight against the narcos and our police officers are unprotected. Marlaska is the main person responsible for this failure and must resign immediately.
The union described the shooting as ‘definitive proof of the failure’ of the government’s Special Security Plan for the Campo de Gibraltar, claiming it ‘has only served to hide the Government’s inaction while drug traffickers operate freely in Spain.’
A high speed boat chase involving cops and suspected drug gangs in Spain. The country’s largest police union says it is losing the war with narcos
Police using helicopters to prevent people in Spain from stealing seized drugs. Spain has grappled with violence from organised drug gangs in recent times
It stressed that what happened in Sevilla was ‘not an isolated case’ but the result of years of ‘insufficient resources, poor planning and a lack of real commitment’ in the fight against organised crime.
‘The plan covering six Andalusian provinces has not strengthened security, it has only served to inflate statistics and feed headlines while the violence of criminal groups grows exponentially and officers continue to be cannon fodder without bulletproof vests, without proper helmets and without armoured vehicles,’ the statement continued.
Jupol added: ‘We don’t want medals or empty speeches, we want to live and work safely.’
‘Each operation becomes a game of Russian roulette because there aren’t enough officers or equipment. We don’t want medals or tributes after each tragedy, we want to go home alive.’
The union is demanding an immediate government response and the implementation of a ‘real, effective and properly funded plan’ to replace what it called ‘propaganda without results.’
Jupol also urged tougher laws on drug-related crimes, more officers and better equipment for both the National Police and Guardia Civil, and the designation of all drug-trafficking zones, particularly in Andalucía, as Areas of Special Singularity.
This, it says, would provide officers stationed there with extra pay and protection.
It also renewed calls for a fair retirement scheme for officers under the civil service system, describing policing as ‘a profession of real and constant risk.’
‘Our colleagues face criminals armed with military-grade weapons and boats that surpass those of the State. Marlaska cannot keep looking the other way while officers put their bodies on the line to make up for his incompetence,’ the union said.
They also highlighted the ‘extreme conditions’ faced by elite units in Malaga and Sevilla.
‘We don’t even have armoured vehicles,’ the statement read. ‘It’s shameful that special operations groups like GOES, which fight drug traffickers directly, don’t have a single bullet-resistant vehicle. It’s reckless and irresponsible of the Ministry of the Interior.’
Jupol also accused the minister of abandoning Spain’s police forces and turning his leadership ‘into an exercise in empty propaganda without tangible results.’
‘Marlaska has lost the respect of the police and of society. His continued presence in office is an insult to those who risk their lives on the streets. If he had any dignity, he would resign today,’ Jupol said.
‘Spain needs a Ministry of the Interior that protects its officers, not one that exposes them. We need a government that looks drug trafficking in the eye, not one that downplays it.
‘This country cannot continue to be governed from behind a desk while our colleagues fall wounded on the battlefield.’
Spanish police involved in a high-speed chase with suspected drug traffickers. Jupol has said police does not have enough resources to help fight crime
Revelers look on in shock as police storm a tourist spot after a spate of violent drug related crimes
Jupol also expressed its solidarity with the injured officer saying: ‘We hope for a full recovery for our colleague. We stand with him and with all officers who risk their lives every day in unacceptable conditions, caused by political neglect and lack of commitment to public safety.’
Spain remains a major strategic route for narcos looking to make an entry into Europe. Many of the shipments come in from Latin American countries.
The country has often reported record-breaking seizures, violent crimes, and an uptick in organised criminal gangs.
In June, 50 people were arrested as four tonnes of cocaine were seized in a major operation. Earlier this month, 13 suspected members of a notorious Venezuelan drug gang, Tren de Aragua, were arrested by Spanish officials in Barcelona, Madrid, Girona, A Coruna and Valencia.
Kidnap, torture, attacks on law enforcement, and murders have been recorded in resort towns such as Marbella and Benalmádena.
