EXCLUSIVE
www.gibraltarolivepress.com
January 17th - January 30th 2018
The Rock’s original community newspaper
FREE
Vol. 3 Issue 62 www.gibraltarolivepress.com January 17th - January 30th 2018
Big increase in Campo drug smuggling blamed on police distracted by Catalunya MARLENE: New motion
Time for change GIBRALTAR must adopt tighter laws to protect the environment. The demand comes in a hardhitting motion proposed by independent MP Marlene Hassan Nahon. Hassan believes a series of new policies need to be implemented, following in-depth discussions with the public, via her Together Gibraltar platform. She wants the government to accept that not only is air quality ‘poor’ on the Rock, but it could be remedied by cutting vehicle emissions. The issue was highlighted in a Gibraltar Olive Press splash (right) last year, when alarming pollution levels in Gibraltar were revealed by the EU. At the next meeting of parliament Hassan wants the house to accept some key issues. These include accepting that poor air quality is not a new phenomenon and that the Rock must try harder to adhere to EU targets on air quality. She also wants better monitoring in key locations and a promise to meet EU targets on recyclable waste. She wants an independent analysis of renewable energy potential and recommends an independent body to oversee these changes.
EXCLUSIVE By Joe Wallen
THEY were woken by a loud bang and then the unmistakeable acrid smell of burning rubber. A classic RHIB speed boat had landed on the beach close to Alcaidesa port, in La Linea, before being set alight by drug smugglers to destroy any evidence. In the same week this January at least half a dozen other drug boats had landed their sinister hauls in the town, the Gibraltar Olive Press can reveal. Indeed, local residents told the paper that drug running across the Straits has increased in regularity over the past couple of months. They claim that the fast boats are arriving ‘on an almost daily basis’ and nothing is being done. Police, both in Spain and Gibraltar, privately admit that drug trafficking in the Campo has exploded. Sources told the paper that the issue was due to a reduction in police presence in the region, thanks to on-going political unrest in Catalunya and the migrant crisis in the Strait of Gibraltar.
Deployed
Some estimates claim 6,000 extra police were deployed to Catalunya in the autumn and the majority still remain there. Many of these are specialist officers from the Unidades de Intervención Policial, a
Fleur Hassan– Nahoum speaks to the press in Gibraltar for the first time since becoming the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem. Read the fascinating interview on Page 6 and 7
‘Out of control’ Photos by the Gibraltar Chronicle
www.hungrymonkey.gi
1
DRUG BUSTS: Rising
specialist unit of the national police, based in Cadiz. “It is very worrying,” one La Linea resident, who did not wished to be named, told the Gibraltar Olive Press. “Drug gangs are becoming increasingly confident. “We know that arrests are still happening and some are high profile, but it is all those who are getting away with it that worries us the most.
“Everyone who lives here knows someone in the business and they are becoming more confident; more young people see it is a long term career.” Another resident fears that the situation could lead to an increase in gang warfare. “Violence is increasing here, gangs are competing more and it needs to be stopped before it gets worse,” said Marta Gonzalez Borja, 34,
MAYFAIR ONMAIN
Gibraltar’s luxury hair salon experience where quality & service matter 286 Main Street Gibraltar, GX11 1AA (+350) 200 75913 info@mayfaironmain.gi www.mayfaironmain.gi
from Algeciras. “You see all the news from Mexico and I fear the worse. “More young people are getting into the drug game because they don’t fear the police anymore.” A number of big seizures don’t seem to be making a difference. They include 5.8 tonnes of cocaine seized in Algeciras hidden in bananas and the round up of 11 members in big drug gangs in La Linea caught smuggling 960kg of cocaine inside pineapples. The family, which has been drug smuggling for an estimated 40 years, had more than €2 million stashed in several bank accounts and owned an incredible 57 buildings, worth €7 million. Another La Linea family were rounded up, with police seizing various guns from a bogus day-care centre, where drugs were sold. Meanwhile police announced that on January 9 and 10, some 11.5kg of hashish was seized in four separate raids in La Linea. On January 8, a further 3kg was found, along with two
guns and three stolen vehicles. Cases have become so frequent that the Junta has recently created a new unit of 12 agents to deal with the problem. Called the ‘Response Task Force’, it is however covering the whole of Andalucia and nowhere near big enough fear locals. Residents insist that the most important change to combat the problem would be a long-awaited second anti-drugs prosecutor for the Campo region.
Worsening
A Gibraltarian police source confirmed that the situation was ‘worsening’ and that the force was ‘increasingly concerned’. Last year alone, the Royal Gibraltar Police were involved in 88 high speed chases at sea involving suspected drug gangs. These actions led to cannabis of an estimated street value in excess of €20 million from reaching the Rock or nearby Campo. “The RGP remains committed to its fights against illegal drugs whether on land or at sea,” a spokesman from the police told the Gibraltar Olive Press. Opinion Page 6