MADRID — A Spanish customs agent died after a police helicopter crashed into the sea during an anti-drug operation, Spain’s Civil Guard said Sunday.
A union for Civil Guard officers said that the agent was participating in the pursuit of drug smugglers in waters near Sotogrande, a coastal town near Gibraltar.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez offered his condolences to the agent’s family in a message on Twitter. Local media reports say that two other people survived the crash.
The southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula is a major entry point of drugs into Europe, where smugglers use speedboats to make runs from north Africa.
