A violent clash unfolded last Friday when a drug trafficking operation targeted the Civil Guard on a vessel. The incident resulted in the deaths of two officers. This is not the first fatal encounter involving state security forces and drug networks in the region near the Algeciras countryside. A 2020 attack on a drug suspect, and an SUV taken from police use without time for officers to exit, highlight a pattern of risk. The driver faces a 30 year prison sentence for assault linked to two attempted murders.
A legal overview from Prensa Ibérica explains that in the early hours of September 5, 2020, around 6:30 in the morning, the Algeciras Police Station was alerted to remove a drug cache in the Getares Ballenera Faro area within Algeciras. Officers reached the location and found drugs being transported in a BMW SUV moving at high speed toward a highway known as Los Yankees.
A Zeta police vehicle, carrying two officers including a trainee, entered the road and observed the vehicle approaching rapidly. The drivers tried to accelerate when they saw the police. The SUV attempted to force past while the road allowed only one vehicle to pass. Isaías Mora Santos, the defendant, struck the police car directly and violently in an effort to avoid arrest while the drugs remained inside the vehicle, with the knowledge that the vehicle could cause death and the intent to end the officers’ lives.
Officers tried to exit the Zeta for safety, but the SUV hit the front left side where the driver was exiting. The impact hurled the inspector several meters from the police vehicle and onto the road. The trainee officer also sustained serious injuries during the collision when he jumped out of the vehicle to escape danger, according to the public ministry.
More than one million euros
The 35 year old inspector suffered severe injuries including partial amputation of the left arm due to a humerus fracture, skull fractures, injuries to a single leg, hemorrhagic shock, a lung contusion, and injuries to the ankle and foot. Even after years, he remains in need of multiple surgeries. Authorities note that the extent of his injuries is still being assessed, with ongoing treatment necessary. The public prosecutor seeks compensation from the suspect of 1.5 million euros, pending a definitive expert assessment. The other officer, who sustained fewer injuries, is proposed to receive 3 thousand euros as compensation.
A total of 17 bales of marijuana were found inside the BMW, weighing 556 kilograms gross. Laboratory analysis identified the substances as pressed tablets with a net weight of 497.012 kilograms and a THC content of 36.4 percent, valued at approximately 845,914 euros. The state prosecutor argues that there is no evidence the driver participated in the theft from the vehicle, so no charge for that crime is sought.
The indictment includes a review of phone records and security footage from the Holidays Village Hotel in Benalmádena, Malaga, covering September 2 to September 6, 2020. It shows that Mora Santos and Alexis Ordóñez Mena were involved in the stash on September 5, 2020, staying at the hotel until the cache date and leaving around 4:42 a.m. on September 2, 2020. The two were observed traveling together with other unnamed individuals to transport the narcotics for later sale or distribution.
The public ministry requests that Mora Santos receive a total of 36 prison years for two counts of attempted murder, one for an attack on public health, and a fourth for illegal possession of weapons. Ordóñez faces four and a half years for the substance charge, which does not cause serious harm to public health but is deemed highly concerning due to quantity involved.
Additional suspects detained during the operation face penalties ranging up to a year in prison. A substantial amount of cash was seized from one residence, with around 140 thousand euros in small banknotes reported in the operation.
Notes on the investigation indicate the defendants and others conspired to transport the narcotics for distribution after the September cache. Law enforcement teams reviewed communications and hotel surveillance to establish the timeline and roles of individuals connected to the drug operation. The case highlights the ongoing risk posed by drug trafficking networks and the serious harm inflicted on officers and communities alike.