Vessel from Colombia released after police find nothing

A Portuguese-flagged merchant vessel was yesterday released by the Royal Gibraltar Police when nothing suspicious was found after a two-day search.

The vessel was stopped as it entered in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters on Tuesday after setting sail from Colombia a fortnight ago.

It was boarded by armed officers, who were assisted by officers from HM Customs, Gibraltar Defence Police and the Gibraltar Port Authority in the search.

A spokesman for the RGP said a search was conducted over the past two days but nothing was found, and the vessel was subsequently released.

In a separate incident, a vessel from Guayaquil, Ecuador was stopped in the port of Algeciras where 45 kilos of cocaine were found by the Spanish National Police.

The vessel, which had declared bananas, was bound for a Turkish port and some 40 hidden tablets containing cocaine were found.