The Guardia Civil chased a drug runner at speeds of up to 200 kph along the A-92 where it passes through the Province of Granada. The pursuit began at 18.00h on Three Kings’ night.

The Peugeot 405 Coupé V6, with 180 kilos of hashish on board, was driven by a Frenchman, who ended the night in the city’s main hospital, Traumatologia, Virgin de las Nieves, although his injuries were not serious.

The Guardia Civil became suspicious of the car because it was obviously over loaded – it was well down on its rear suspension – and the driver was not wearing his seat belt correctly. They decided to flag him down but he had other ideas, which was when the high-speed chase began.

It the heat of the pursuit the driver entered a dead-end road (under road works) and had to reverse back out, smashing into the patrol car trying to block the way. Off he set again before hitting a crash barrier to the north of Granada; the impact caused the car catch fire.

Far from giving up, the 34-year-old Frenchman ran off across a field but was finally captured.

(News: Baza, Altiplano, Granada, Andalucia)