British detain four Spanish police officers in Gibraltar

Madrid - Spain's interior minister apologized to British authorities for an incident that led to the detention of four Spanish civil guards on Gibraltar, ministry officials said. British police arrested the coastguards after they landed without permission while pursuing a boat of suspected smugglers to the port of Gibraltar Monday.

The officers were released overnight after questioning. Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba apologized to the British territory's chief minister for the "incorrect procedure" of the guards, officials said.

Gibraltar, the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, has been a British possession since 1704, although Spain claims it. The strait separating it from Africa has long been used for smuggling contraband and illegal immigrants into Europe.

A series of incidents in recent weeks has heightened tensions between Gibraltar authorities and the Spanish coastguard.

The British ambassador to Spain apologized last month for a military exercise during which soldiers fired weapons at a buoy painted in the colors of the Spanish flag.