This is the moment drug smugglers were spotted making maneouvres in Cadiz in the early hours of Christmas Eve.
A photo shared by the Guardia Civil police union AUGC shows a so-called narcolancha in the waters of Caño de Sancti Petri in Chiclana.
The speedboat is said to have sat immobilised in the channel for hours after breaking down, calmly waiting for a second vessel to arrive with mechanics to repair the engine so it could continue its journey.
The AUGC said the ‘shameful’ episode underlines how certain stretches of the Cadiz coastline have become ‘effectively dominated by drug gangs’ operating with with near-total impunity.
In a statement, the AUGC said traffickers were using the channel ‘as if it were their own mechanical workshop’, calling the situation a clear sign of the level of control exercised by organised crime in the area.
The association also took aim at what it calls an overly optimistic official narrative focused on seizures and arrests.
It rejected what it described as ‘triumphalist messaging’, arguing that such claims sit uneasily with scenes like those witnessed in Sancti Petri.
The AUGC accused authorities of downplaying the scale of the problem.
While political leaders enjoy Christmas with their families, the statement added, Guardia Civil officers remain on patrol ‘in precarious conditions’, describing the situation as ‘shameful’.
It comes a day after Manuel Gavira, parliamentary spokesperson for Vox in Andalucia, echoed similar concerns following meetings with Guardia Civil associations and the group Nuestro Corazon por Bandera.
Gavira said crime gangs conveyed a strong sense of impunity and warned that the issue is now affecting national security.
He called for more officers and equipment, legal reforms to strengthen police powers, salary parity, recognition of policing as a high-risk profession, and the designation of Cadiz and surrounding coastal areas as zones of special operational sensitivity.
He also warned that increased pressure in the Strait of Gibraltar is pushing trafficking routes further along the coast and inland – to places such as Chiclana, Sanlucar, Chipiona and even up the Guadalquivir towards Sevilla – suggesting the problem is spreading rather than being contained.
Such areas host a high number of British tourists and expats, and are also popular getaway destinations for wealthy Spaniards.
