The Guardia Civil surprises 4 people on board a boat stolen the day before in Altea, in Cartagena.

The Civil Guard of the Region of Murcia has arrested four people who were travelling on board a pleasure boat intercepted in the waters of Cartagena (Murcia) and which had been stolen the day before from a marina in Altea (Alicante).

Specifically, the four crew members have been arrested as alleged perpetrators of theft and use of a boat. All of them, with previous drug trafficking offences, have been remanded in custody, according to sources from the Benemérita in a statement.

The action began when civil guards of the Provincial Maritime Service of Murcia were carrying out surveillance work in the waters of Cartagena and detected the presence of a suspicious boat sailing away from the coast.

The patrol boat of the Corps began approaching the vessel until they reached it and identified its crew, four men, who turned out to have a record for drug trafficking offences.
The civil guards found that it was a recreational boat – 11 metres long and equipped with three 300 horsepower outboard engines – stolen the day before from a marina in Altea (Alicante).

SUSPECTED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING
The agents examined the vessel and located, among other things, various positioning equipment, satellite telephones and frequency inhibitors of the kind normally used by drug trafficking groups to smuggle drugs by sea.

The police action culminated in the arrest of four men, of Spanish (3) and Venezuelan (1) nationality, aged between 28 and 51, and residents of Cádiz, Almería and Granada, as alleged perpetrators of the crime of theft and use of a boat.

The Civil Guard has recovered the boat, valued at 400,000 euros, which has been returned to its legitimate owner.

The detainees, the proceedings and the recovered boat have been placed at the disposal of the Court of Instruction of Cartagena (Murcia), and the arrestees have been ordered to be remanded in prison.