This boat can reach speeds of up to 40 knots, but is not fast enough to catch the drug traffickers, who have 60-knot vessels. The customs officers are working flat out, but say they increasingly lack the resources to deal with the problem.Juan Carlos ToroCustoms officers shine a spotlight on a small shrimping boat that may have been used to store drugs on the bottom of the river.Juan Carlos ToroA ban on eel and shrimp fishing has put many local people out of business. Some continue to fish illegally, while others have turned to the drugs trade, helping smugglers as they make their way up the river to Seville.Juan Carlos ToroThe Spanish customs service, which answers to the tax office, is responsible for all aspects of controlling Spain’s borders. In the photo, a hashish haul.Spanish customs serviceA helicopter used by customs officers takes off from a base at Los Barrios, close to Gibraltar, on one of several daily missions. Aboard are two pilots and two observers who use thermal cameras to watch for movement along the coast of Andalusia. When they detect a vessel they suspect is carrying drugs, they will give chase.Juan Carlos ToroSome areas of the Guadalquivir estuary can only be accessed or monitored from the air. In the photograph, the Sancti Petri sandbank, close to San Fernando, in Cádiz.Juan Carlos ToroA customs unit vessel uses a radar covering a three-mile area to search for small vessels used to bring drugs to port.Juan Carlos ToroA view of Cádiz from the air.Juan Carlos ToroCustoms officers use a thermal camera to spot vessels from far away. In the photograph, a suspicious boat has been identified from the air.Juan Carlos ToroThe Guadalquivir is navigable for around 100 kilometers from the coast to Seville.Juan Carlos Toro
