The arrest occurred last Tuesday when patrol officers stopped a suspicious vehicle, and the driver attempted to flee.
In a high-risk chase through the urban area of Elda, officers finally halted the car on Marina Española street in front of the health center after weaving through several streets in the opposite direction.
During a search of the two occupants, drugs were found hidden in the trunk, concealed in six plastic bags, after the vehicle had been brought to a stop.
Earlier, authorities pursued two individuals in a vehicle that tried to evade intervention by driving against traffic across city streets. The suspects were carrying 13.5 kilos of marijuana along with 2,803 euros in cash.
The sequence of events began in the afternoon when a citizen-safety service team noticed three vehicles traveling at high speed on a major thoroughfare, disregarding nearby traffic signs. One vehicle followed the other in a convoy arrangement that drew suspicion of hidden criminal activity, with a front vehicle, a middle vehicle, and a tail vehicle.
Convoys are a pattern widely reported in criminal networks. During transport, members often use several vehicles circulating together to obscure illegal activity, with two vehicles at the front and rear providing counter-surveillance and distraction, while an intermediate vehicle carries the illicit goods. This pattern prompted immediate suspicion among officers.
Suspicions of criminal intent were reinforced when the drivers of all three vehicles accelerated, executed erratic maneuvers, and fled at high speed once the police vehicle became visible. They roamed city streets in the opposite direction, ignoring police sirens and lights.
After a lengthy pursuit through multiple streets, three vehicles separated, and officers focused on the vehicle occupying the middle position of what appeared to be a suspect convoy.
In a dramatic turn, the middle-vehicle driver accelerated, swerving to overtake and avoiding countermeasures, endangering pedestrians and road users by weaving through traffic.
Eventually, the vehicle turned onto a street running opposite to the normal flow, disregarded traffic signs, and lost control when its rear wheels struck the curb. The driver lost steering control and the vehicle crashed into the terrace of a catering business, where the pursuit was blocked. Officers exited their patrol car and apprehended the two occupants, who now face charges including causing harm, offenses against public health, serious disobedience, and infractions of road-safety laws. The driver lacked a Spanish license, and the vehicle did not carry required civil liability insurance.
Despite the perilous driving, there were no reported injuries to bystanders, thanks to the vigilance of police units and the steady presence of warning signals. The hotel next to the scene, and its terrace, sustained damages estimated at 12,000 euros, though no customers were present at the time.
Two detainees, one identified as British and the other as Moroccan, aged 24 and 26, were placed in custody under the jurisdiction of the Investigation Court in the same town, both previously documented in records.
The cannabis recovered at the scene was linked to the ongoing operations conducted by the Elda Police Department, as noted in official reports. Information summarized by the local authorities indicates a substantial seizure and ongoing criminal investigations related to this incident.
Second chase in a week
Exactly yesterday, this newspaper reported that officers from the Elda-Petrer Local Judicial Police Brigade arrested two more individuals accused of offenses related to assaulting an official, serious disobedience, and road-safety violations.
The incidents unfolded when a citizen-safety unit, operating as plainclothes personnel, stopped a vehicle moving against traffic.
The officers signaled to stop with audible and visual cues, but the driver ignored the command and attempted to ram the officers with the vehicle. The assailant continued to flee, triggering a prolonged chase through the streets of Elda.
During the pursuit, the fleeing driver attacked the police vehicle multiple times in an effort to push it off the road, creating danger for officers and others nearby.
The chase ended near the Monovar train station when the pursuing vehicle lost control and collided with road barriers. Authorities arrested two individuals who resisted the arrest with determined aggression, causing damage to multiple vehicles involved in the pursuit.
Following the arrests, investigators learned that the driver was subject to a warrant, which explained the desperate attempt to flee.
Those detained, aged 38 and 42 and of Spanish nationality, were remanded by the Criminal Court of First Instance in Elda. The driver received an immediate prison sentence, while the other detainee was granted a conditional release.