A teenager has been arrested on suspicion of ferrying illegal migrants from Ceuta to Gibraltar on a speed boat.
The 19-year-old Gibraltarian was arrested following a dramatic pursuit in Spanish waters by the Guardia Civil, which ultimately ended in the Rock’s port.
The presence of Spanish police in British waters has since been branded an ‘incursion’ by Gibraltar’s government, sparking a political dispute.
The incident on Friday marks the first-ever arrival in Gibraltar linked to the clandestine movement of migrants out of Ceuta since the beginning of the border crisis.
According to the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP), two vessels were pursued by Spanish authorities over their suspected involvement in migrant-smuggling.
One of the boats eventually entered the Gibraltar harbour area, where its occupants abandoned it and made their way ashore, police said.
Chase ends at Gibraltar port
The RGP said it was alerted at around 6pm after a member of the public reported seeing a Guardia Civil vessel towing an abandoned boat in harbour waters.
The occupants of the vessel had reportedly already disembarked in the area of Peter Isola Promenade.
RGP land and marine units responded and recovered the abandoned vessel from the Guardia Civil.
Police subsequently arrested a 19-year-old local man on suspicion of assisting illegal immigration.
Both the suspect and the vessel remained in police custody while investigations continued.
A second boat carrying two people was meanwhile intercepted by HM Customs Gibraltar’s marine unit.
The pair were detained while officers searched the vessel and checked their documentation. They were ultimately released.
The incident quickly developed into a political issue because of the long-running dispute over the waters surrounding Gibraltar.
The Gibraltar Government said it had received footage showing a Guardia Civil vessel entering its claimed waters, branding the situation ‘potentially very serious’.
It later referred to the Spanish patrol boat’s presence as an ‘incursion’.
The Spanish position on sovereignty over the waters surrounding Gibraltar differs from that of the UK and Gibraltar, making incursions by Spanish state vessels an ongoing source of friction.
The incident suggests migrant smugglers are now operating in the immediate vicinity of Gibraltar.
It has additionally raised questions locally about whether boats and logistical networks previously associated with tobacco smuggling across the Strait could be repurposed for the more lucrative movement of people.
The investigation continues.
