A drug smuggler was air lifted to hospital by a Civil Guard helicopter early on Thursday after he was seriously injured while trying to escape from officers

02:21 El NACHO 0 Comments

DISCLAIMER:Text may be subject to copyright.This blog does not claim copyright to any such text. Copyright remains with the original copyright holder.A drug smuggler was air lifted to hospital by a Civil Guard helicopter early on Thursday after he was seriously injured while trying to escape from officers who had arrested the rest of the gang which had been caught bringing in a cargo of cannabis at Barbate.

Two Moroccan and seven Spanish gang members were arrested on shore after unloading 1.8 tons of cannabis from a suspicious boat which had been detected by SIVE, the electronic surveillance system for the coast.

One of the suspects was still on board the vessel when the officers swooped and he sped out to sea, with a Civil Guard helicopter in pursuit. He suffered serious injuries to both legs when he fell overboard while taking evasive action, and was caught by the boat’s propeller.

The injured man was rescued by the helicopter’s crew and taken to land where first aid was administered while the crew waited for the ambulance to arrive. They then decided to take him straight to hospital over concerns about his blood loss, and the possibility of a lengthy wait in this area of difficult access.

The suspect was due to undergo emergency surgery later on Thursday.