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WATCH! Murcia migrant smugglers arrested after passengers allegedly forced into sea with machetes
Two separate operations in Calblanque and Águilas led to four arrests, with three Guardia Civil officers injured during a dangerous sea chase
#OperacionesGC | Detenidos 4 patrones de pateras taxi en Murcia
— Guardia Civil (@guardiacivil) September 7, 2026
📍 Calblanque y Cabo Cope.
👮🏻♂️ Efectivos de #SeguridadCiudadana, #ServicioMarítimo y #ServicioAéreo interceptaron 2 lanchas rápidas. Los tripulantes agredieron a las personas migrantes y embistieron una patrullera… pic.twitter.com/mjY2uuQN58
Four men accused of running high-speed migrant ‘taxi’ boats have been arrested after two separate operations on the Murcia coast, including an incident in which passengers allegedly faced beatings, machete threats and pepper spray before being forced into the sea.
The first operation took place on Monday August 31, when Guardia Civil officers found 63 migrants on a beach in Calblanque, Cartagena. Several had injuries and told officers they had paid thousands of euros for the journey from Africa to the Spanish mainland.
According to their accounts, the boat’s captains had beaten passengers and ordered them to keep their heads down as they approached the coast. They allegedly used a machete and pepper spray to force people to jump into the water, even though some couldn’t swim.
The vessel fled after dropping the migrants near the protected coastal area, but a Guardia Civil maritime patrol tracked it down around 12 miles southeast of Monte Cenizas. The 15-metre boat, fitted with four powerful engines, was seized and its two occupants arrested.
Just two days later, officers were involved in another dramatic interception, this time off Cabo Cope in Águilas. The Guardia Civil's Sistema Integral de Vigilancia Exterior (SIVE) detected a suspicious 10-metre inflatable boat believed to be involved in people smuggling.
A patrol boat and helicopter located the vessel, but its crew immediately tried to escape at high speed despite repeated orders to stop. During the pursuit, the suspects allegedly carried out dangerous manoeuvres and attempted to ram the Guardia Civil boat.
With a collision considered imminent, an officer fired two warning shots into the air. The vessels nevertheless collided, leaving three Guardia Civil officers with minor injuries.
The suspects then attempted to flee again, throwing fuel containers into the sea as they went. Officers eventually caught up with the boat, boarded it and arrested the two occupants, recovering 28 jerrycans of petrol.
The Guardia Civil said the two vessels were linked to the same type of illegal migrant transport operation, with both capable of carrying large numbers of people and fitted with multiple high-powered engines.
The four arrested men face a range of charges including facilitating illegal immigration, assaulting law enforcement officers, causing injury and property damage, piracy and illegal fuel transport.
Image: Guardia Civil
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