DRUG smugglers on the Costa del Sol are facing a formidable new foe after Spain’s Guardia Civil launched a new €35 million patrol ship to hunt down narcos along the Mediterranean coast and beyond. The state-of-the-art Duque de Ahumada – named after Francisco Javier Giron, the Duke of Ahumada and founder of the Guardia Civil – was unveiled by Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, at a ceremony in Vigo last week. The advanced vessel, funded mostly by the European Union, will spend four months a year on missions with Frontex, the EU’s border and coast guard agency, with a focus on drug trafficking, illegal migration and environmental monitoring. The patrol ship features five decks, a heliport, two fast-response boats and an underwater drone capable of diving to a depth of one kilometre. The 83-metre long vessel will join the Guardia Civil’s maritime force in Cadiz, replacing the Río Miño, following sea trials off Spain’s northern coast.