Governor and Chief Minister thank RGP and Customs Marine Sections

FOLLOWING the successful seizure of Cannabis valued at £4 million, congratulations were due to the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) and HM Customs.

Both his Excellency the Governor and the Chief Minister visited the combined operations force and gave short speeches of thanks before speaking more informally to the crews and their onshore co-ordinators.

The Governor said: “Your recent operations have been very testing but very successful.” He also stressed the importance of cooperation and coordination between the RGP, HM Customs, the Royal Navy and their Spanish equivalents.

The Chief Minister emphasised the importance he placed on the Marine Sections having the right equipment to undertake their dangerous work, especially at night saying “Cannabis poses considerable danger to the health and safety of the users themselves, their families, and our communities and I am determined to do all that is necessary to keep cannabis off the streets of our city.”

The crews then described conditions they often face on the water, with RHIBs travelling without lights at up to 50 knots in pitch darkness. “The smugglers will go to any lengths to get away and they will risk people’s lives to do so” said one officer.