Customs officer faces disciplinary over leaked CCTV footage

A local Customs officer faces disciplinary action for accessing confidential CCTV footage of a stolen Guardia Civil vehicle being driven across the border into Gibraltar.

HM Customs (Gibraltar) launched an investigation after a video of the incident was posted on social media.

The footage was recorded by highly-sensitive security cameras operated by Customs at the border. These cameras can only be accessed by a small number of officers.

The officer facing a disciplinary is not being accused of releasing the footage or posting it on Facebook, but rather of allowing others to access it.

“Whilst the final version of the investigator’s report has not been concluded, it does appear that the grant by this officer of access to the footage is what allowed others to film the footage on mobile phones and disseminate it in a manner that led to it being posted on social media,” a spokesman for No 6 Convent Place told the Chronicle.

“The Government of Gibraltar and HM Customs have taken this matter extremely seriously.”

“Disciplinary proceedings have therefore since been instigated against the officer concerned.”

Customs has also made changes to its standard operating procedures in order to avoid any similar occurrence in the future.

Access to the cameras has been restricted solely to senior officers, the Chronicle understands.

The leaked footage shows how a Polish man drove a Guardia Civil vehicle into Gibraltar before stopping just inside British territory.

The man, who suffered from mental health problems, stole the car from the Spanish side of the border precinct.

Once in Gibraltar he was challenged by Borders and Coastguard Agency officers, before being hauled from the vehicle and handed over to Spanish police.

The Borders and Coastguard Agency has insisted its officers acted properly and followed the right procedures.