The Independent Tax Agency Union (SIAT) has reported the director of this agency in Las Palmas for malfeasance and neglect of duty in prosecuting crime. This is due to having assigned a Monday-to-Friday office schedule to the crew of the patrol boat Cóndor while their vessel is undergoing repairs.
In its complaint, the union claims that the withdrawal of those crew members during the repair of the patrol boat based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has “left the eastern islands of the Canary Islands without coverage.”
“It is incomprehensible to leave the maritime border of Gran Canaria unprotected at night, precisely the usual time for illegal activities such as drug trafficking and smuggling,” stated the president of SIAT, Manuel Porras, in a press release.
The Customs Surveillance Service management has denied in recent weeks that the work being done in the Canary Islands against drug trafficking has been adversely affected. The patrol boat from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Sacre, continues to operate with the support of the special operations vessels Petrel and Fulmar. Furthermore, they believe this is a labour dispute due to disagreements over the working conditions assigned on land to those sailors (Monday-to-Friday shifts from 8:00 to 15:00), rather than an organisational issue affecting Customs operations.
However, SIAT maintains that the Tax Agency delegate in Las Palmas, María del Carmen Guillén, “has no operational justification” to support the decision she made. They also criticise her for having made public statements that, in their view, could have “undermined” an ongoing operation against a drug yacht.
For this reason, they have filed a complaint with the Courts of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria against Guillén for malfeasance, abandonment of duty, neglect of the duty to prosecute crimes, disobedience, and refusal of assistance.
