Seven migrants travelling on a small fibreglass boat off Cartagena, Spain, were rescued on Thursday by military personnel using the Bojador Coastal Patrol.
The rescue was carried out as part of a coastal patrol aimed at detecting cross-border crimes. The Frontex aircraft detected a boat suspected of carrying migrants and followed its route, the GNR said in a statement.
Following the alert, the Bojador Coastal Patrol (LPC) was activated and the GNR military immediately directed the vessel “towards the target that was located at a distance of 90 nautical miles.”
“A small fibreglass boat was intercepted, with seven people on board, and it was possible to rescue it in safe conditions,” the GNR said, adding that “it was still possible to seize the boat and identify the facilitator involved in this illegal entry of people into European territory.”
Once the rescue operation was completed, the LPC Bojador headed to the Port of Cartagena with the seven migrants on board, including the facilitator, all adults and men, being handed over to the competent authorities.
“After disembarking, the Civil Guard verified that there was an outstanding arrest warrant against the identified facilitator, as he had a history of other illegal crossings, among other types of crimes committed in Spanish territory, reasons for which he was arrested,” the GNR highlights.
Through the Border and Coast Guard Control Unit (UCCF), the GNR deployed the LPC Bojador in the “Indalo 2024” operation, which will run from June 12 to August 7, 2024, under the auspices of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), within the scope of operational coordination at the external borders of the European Union.
The main objective of this operation is to act in the field of border surveillance, control irregular immigration flows, combat cross-border crime, strengthen European cooperation at the level of the Coast Guard and support search and rescue operations.
Since 2021, the Bojador ship has participated in several Search and Rescue missions, contributing to the detection and rescue of hundreds of migrants in the Mediterranean, in cooperation with other forces, in particular the Guardia Civil, in Spain, and the Guardia di Finanza and the Coast Guard, both from Italy, highlights the GNR.
Source: Observadora
