FOUR men have been arrested for possessing eight automatic Kalashnikov AK-47 rifles following a high speed car chase between Alicante province and the Murcia region.
The men, aged between 21 and 43, have been accused of storing weapons of war, attacking a police officer, ramming a police car, breaching road safety, and belonging to a criminal gang.
A Policia Nacional patrol spotted a car driving dangerously on the A-7 motorway between Alicante and Elche.
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Officers decided to intercept the vehicle but the driver instead stepped up his speed and started a chase where speeds exceeded 150 kms/h.
A police statement described it as a ‘frenetic chase that began along different roads in Alicante province’.
Patrol cars were drafted in to join the pursuit along with ensuring the safety of other road users.
At times, the evading vehicle rammed some of the police cars pursuing it, ‘seriously endangering the lives of officers given the virulence of the rammings and the high speed at which they were travelling’.
One of the police vehicles was so badly damaged that it was pulled out of the pursuit.
The speeding car then entered the Murcia region, and rammed a patrol vehicle with such force, that the driver lost control of his car and crashed into a field.
He escaped on foot and police at the time were unable to catch him.
Officers looking inside the abandoned car and discovered eight Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles along with magazine cartridges.
A police statement said: “The seizure of this type of weaponry is of special importance for public safety, as these weapons are usually linked to activities typical of organised crime and the commission of extremely serious offences, such as homicides or drug trafficking.”
“The removal of such weapons is a major blow against organised crime and prevents their possible use in violent acts.”
Subsequent inquiries led to the identification and arrest of four men in Alicante and Sant Vicent del Raspeig.
All of the detainees had prior criminal records for what the police described as serious offences.
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