The Civil Guard dismantles a network acting as a 'taxi boat' refuelling station in Alicante

The lucrative business of human trafficking also requires refuelling services to carry out its criminal activities. This was the role of a criminal organisation recently dismantled by the Civil Guard, which allegedly supplied fuel to 'taxi boats' operating between the coasts of North Africa and the shores of Alicante, Murcia, and Almería.

The operation concluded with the arrest of seven suspects, along with two others under investigation. As a result of a search conducted in the Murcian town of Águilas, agents seized 2,000 litres of gasoline stored in canisters, five cars, five boats, eight mobile phones, and three satellite phones, according to the Civil Guard on Monday.

The Civil Guards discovered the existence of a criminal network that allegedly supplied fuel to other specialised criminal groups, in exchange for large sums of money, to smuggle irregular immigrants into Spain. The organisation provided gasoline both on land and at sea to these types of vessels. To do this, they would first go to service stations to fill their containers and then transport them to the agreed meeting points.

However, this task was not the only service they offered to other criminal groups, as they also provided other logistical materials, such as land vehicles, boats, outboard motors, and storage facilities, according to investigation sources. In short, they offered a whole range of tailor-made services to make life easier for human trafficking networks.

The detainees are charged with alleged crimes of belonging to a criminal organisation, facilitating illegal immigration, and transporting and storing explosive substances. In the operation, the Civil Guard collaborated with the Local Police of Águilas. The intervention, as highlighted by the Armed Institute, is part of the objectives established by the Civil Guard in its Strategic Plan, specifically regarding the comprehensive fight against immigration networks and the control of irregular migratory flows.

The Civil Guard emphasises that the criminal gangs profiting from the 'taxi boat' business lack any scruples, as they do not care about subjecting victims to extreme risk, considering that the maritime journeys are carried out in vessels without any safety measures.