A Guardia Civil union has sounded the alarm over a growing wave of drug trafficking in Manilva and along the western Costa del Sol – warning the area risks becoming ‘another Campo de Gibraltar’.
The Asociacion Unificada de Guardias Civiles (AUGC) has formally written to both the Guardia Civil’s Directorand the Government Subdelegate in Malaga, Javier Salas, demanding urgent reinforcements.
In the letters, the union warns that organised crime – particularly drug trafficking – is shifting from heavily policed areas like the Campo de Gibraltar to coastal towns with fewer resources, including Manilva.
‘Criminals are moving where pressure is lower’
According to AUGC, increased policing and operational success in Cadiz province has forced trafficking networks to relocate.
However, towns on the western Costa del Sol have not received the same boost in manpower or equipment.
Although Manilva’s Guardia Civil post was upgraded to a ‘Puesto Principal’ in 2023 to reflect its growing population and strategic coastal location, the union says the upgrade was not matched with additional officers or material resources.
As it stands, AUGC claims staffing levels are ‘clearly insufficient’ to meet real security demands.
In practice, this can leave the town without effective coverage, particularly when officers are redeployed to assist in neighbouring municipalities – sometimes covering up to 63km of coastline as far as Marbella.
‘No vehicles, no tech, no capacity’
The union also highlights what it calls a serious lack of operational tools to combat narcotics activity.
Manilva’s Guardia Civil unit reportedly lacks suitable vehicles to access rural tracks and escape routes commonly used by traffickers. It also lacks modern technological resources necessary to tackle organised crime networks.
AUGC argues that while municipalities under the Algeciras Command benefited from the ‘Plan Carteia’ – which injected significant personnel and resources into anti-drug operations – Manilva has been left without similar reinforcements despite facing comparable threats.
Narcolanchas ‘acting with impunity’
The union points to repeated sightings of narcolanchas – high-powered drug boats – sheltering along Malaga’s coastline during storms, sometimes in full public view.
‘It appears as if parts of the Spanish coastline are becoming lawless territory,’ the union warns, contrasting what it describes as the growing boldness of traffickers with the lack of support for frontline officers.
AUGC says officers are increasingly confronting heavily armed organised crime groups ‘with war weapons’ while lacking adequate resources.
Call for reinforcements and legal reform
The union is demanding:
- A significant increase in staffing levels in Manilva
- Permanent deployment of specialised anti-drug units
- More and better vehicles and maritime resources
- Tougher penalties for traffickers
- Criminal classification of ‘petaqueo’ (fuel supply to narco boats)
It also criticises the Government for failing to recognise Guardia Civil officers and National Police as working in a legally designated ‘high-risk profession’, despite what it describes as daily exposure to violent criminal networks.
‘The mafias move, adapt and expand their territory while the State loses ground at sea,’ the union warns. ‘We are witnessing a loss of authority.’
AUGC concludes that unless urgent action is taken, organised crime risks becoming permanently entrenched along the Costa del Sol.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
