Guardia Civil service dogs key to finding stowaways at Almeria port

GUARDIA Civil discovered 11 stowaways at Almeria port in just over a week.
Between November 9 and 18 they came across a series of people hidden under lorries and buses which had disembarked from boats coming into the port from North Africa.
The Guardia highlighted the role of service dogs Thor and Blacky in sniffing out the stowaways, all of whom were found showing symptoms of exhaustion and dehydration due to the conditions in which they travelled to the Almeria coast.
So far this year the Almeria Guardia have intercepted 118 stowaways at the provincial capital port. Five of them were minors.
In some cases they had concealed themselves among luggage on inside vehicles. Others jumped in the water while the boats they were travelling on were docking to try and make it to Spanish territory.
In extreme cases the Guardia has come across stowaways in vehicle engines.
Guardia stowaway detection operations are carried out throughout the year, but are stepped UP in in the summer during the special Crossing the Straits operation, when many people of North African origin return to their home countries for visits.