Gibraltar’s representation at the Labour Party Conference continued yesterday evening with the Gibraltar Reception hosted by the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and featuring a keynote speech by the UK Minister for Europe and the Overseas Territories Stephen Doughty MP.
According to media reports, the Spanish Customs (Vigilancia Aduanera) will step up its campaign to tackle drug and tobacco smuggling at the frontier this August with the introduction of a scanner to detect any illicit cargo hidden in vehicles. This measure comes following a reported increase in the smuggling trade at a time when Spain is suffering a serious economic crisis which has hit the Campo area the hardest.
The Gibraltar Health Authority will officially launch its new website tomorrow. The site, which can already be accessed at www.gha.gi, includes information on various services provided by the Authority, health advice, contact details for different departments and GHA Annual Reports.
Officers of HM Customs arrested two people in a car park in the New Harbours complex yesterday evening.
Officers on patrol challenged the couple who were seen acting suspiciously around two Spanish registered cars. The cars were subsequently searched and a commercial quantity of cigarettes was found concealed within the spare tyres.
Two Spanish nationals, Francisco Cordero Perez from La Linea, aged 27 years and Abdel Gani Mohamed Mohamed from Ceuta, aged 33 years, together with a local man Paul David Martinez, aged 35 years were yesterday found guilty in the Magistrates Court for the offence Importing a Prohibited Import, namely an eight metre Vigilant Rigid Inflatable Vessel with two 225hp outboard engines.