Guardia Civil officer injured during anti-smuggling operation in Algeciras

A Guardia Civil officer was seriously injured after being run over by a vehicle involved in a drug smuggling operation in the Rinconcillo beach in Algeciras.
The officer was dragged by the car and sustained injuries to his lower body, in an incident described by the Guardia Civil as attempted murder.
Guardia Civil officers had attended the Rinconcillo beach after receing information about a suspected smuggling operation in the northeast corner of the bay.
When they arrived they spotted two people on a motorbike carrying a bale of cannabis resin.
As they tried to stop the motorbike, an unlit vehicle rammed into one of the officers and dragged him for several metres before speeding off.
The vehicle fled the scene and an operation is still under way to identify its occupants.
After a search of the beach, three bales of cannabis resin weighing 98 kilograms were recovered from the shoreline.
This was the second of two anti-smuggling operations on Monday night.
Earlier that night, Guardia Civil officers intercepted smugglers as they unloaded drugs in a marina in El Saladillo, also in Algeciras.
They seized 55 bales of cannabis resin weighing 1.9 tonnes, together with a fast launch and two stolen vehicles.
One of the smugglers was also arrested.