Posted: Posted July 11, 2021 / 06:51 AM CDT / Has been updated: July 11, 2021 / 06:51 AM CDTMadrid (AP) —Spanish customs officers died after a police helicopter crashed into the sea during a drug control operation, the Spanish Civil Guard said on Sunday. A union of civil guard officers said agents are participating in the pursuit of drug smugglers in the waters near Sotogrande, a coastal town near Gibraltar. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed his condolences to the agent’s family in a Twitter message. According to local media reports, the other two survived the crash. The southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula is the main drug gateway to Europe where smugglers use speedboats to flee North Africa.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 11, 2021 12:00 UTC