Spain arrests suspect in February motorboat accident that killed 2 policemen

MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities have arrested a 32-year-old man in the deaths of two police officers in February when a speedboat suspected of being drug smugglers hit their patrol boat, the Spanish Civil Guard said Thursday.

This the incident took place on February 9as a Civil Guard ship was patrolling, identifying motorboats spotted in the southern port of Barbate. Video footage showed the motorboat hitting the vessel in port waters.

The Civil Guard said in a statement that it had arrested one suspect and asked a local court to issue international arrest warrants for three people who were on the motorboat, on suspicion that the others had been outside Spain shortly after the incident.

Two other members of the six-person crew were also injured, the Civil Guard reported in February.

The coast of Spain near the Strait of Gibraltar is drug smuggling hotspot from Morocco to Europe.