Peter Devlin and colleagues - Spain

Last updated: 12 April 2012

Divers experience 7 year ordeal although licensed wreck divers

Peter Devlin, who ran a salvage company, became the victim of animosities between local authorities and the central Spanish government. His company had been issued a licence by the Spanish government to extract 200 tons of tin ingots from a vessel that sank off Corrubedo in Galicia in 1877. Peter chose an experienced team of commercial divers to undertake the work in 2002. The men did 4 dives, logging details and videotaping each one. As specified in their contract, they informed a Captain Gonzales of the recovered artefacts and when on the way to meet him, they were arrested by Guardia Civil. They were asked where they had hidden the gold and the diamonds they had recovered, a question which left them totally bewildered.

The men had a court hearing on 21 June 2002. The police stated that they had come to the area under false pretences to steal gold from wrecks. The men were released on bail on payment of a bond. It was not until November 2005 that the men were informed that they had all been charged with “Damage to National heritage and theft” and would face a trial in 2006. After seven years the prosecution eventually abandoned a number of the most serious charges relating to the alleged theft of gold and diamonds. In exchange the men pleaded guilty to lesser charges including risking damage to Spanish heritage. As a result they were sentenced to a one year suspended sentence and a small fine. They are now home in the United Kingdom. No-one has ever disputed that all the work the divers undertook was covered by their valid contract with the Central Spanish government.