Police have arrested a 42-year-old man in Dénia following a violent ram-raid at a local tobacconist that led to a high-speed motorway chase. The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday, May 14th, saw a criminal gang use a stolen car to smash through the metal shutters of the establishment to steal stock.
Officers from the National Police arrived at the scene to find one vehicle still wedged into the shopfront and a second getaway car parked nearby. Several individuals were spotted loading 1,200 cartons of tobacco into the boot. As the police attempted to intervene, the suspects rammed the patrol car to disable it and sped away. During the escape, one of the gang members reportedly pointed a firearm at the officers.
While the getaway car fled towards the AP-7 motorway, officers returned to the shop after checking security cameras and discovering a suspect was still inside. The 42-year-old man was arrested at the scene.
The fleeing vehicle was later found abandoned near Xeresa, in the province of Valencia, after it had been driven the wrong way down the motorway, causing a collision with another car. Inside the abandoned vehicle, police recovered hundreds of tobacco packets and documents belonging to the man already in custody.
The arrested man faces charges of robbery with force, vehicle theft, forgery of documents, and membership of a criminal group. The investigation remains open as police search for the remaining gang members who fled the scene. Damage to the Dénia shop and the police vehicle is estimated to run into thousands of euro.
