Two men have been arrested following a multi-agency Search and Rescue operation in Catalan Bay this morning.

At around 6am, the Royal Gibraltar Police were alerted to a pursuit involving Spanish authorities and a suspect RHIB on the Eastern Side of the Rock.

HM Customs and Gibraltar Defence Police Marine Sections were deployed to the area to search for two persons thought to have fallen into the water during the chase.

Meanwhile, RGP officers patrolled the beaches.

During the operation, a Spanish helicopter hovered over Catalan Bay, helping to search for the missing persons.

A 30-year-old Moroccan man was then found by HM Customs, in-between Catalan and Sandy Bay, 100 metres from shore.

He was then handed to RGP officers who arrested him on suspicion of being a non-Gibraltarian found in Gibraltar without a valid permit or certificate and on suspicion of being Knowingly Concerned with the Importation of a Controlled Drug.

A short while later, GDP were guided to a person in the water by a Guardia Civil helicopter, which was hovering over Catalan Bay.

The 32-year-old Spanish national, from La Linea, was found in the water, approximately 500 metres from the shore by GDP officers.

He was then arrested on suspicion of being a non-Gibraltarian found in Gibraltar without a valid permit or certificate and on suspicion of being Knowingly Concerned with the Importation of a Controlled Drug.

Spanish authorities state that they also detained two persons and a vessel, the latter suspected to contain illegal drugs, in Spanish waters.

An investigation, led by the RGP, is ongoing.