The Civil Guard of the Region of Murcia has arrested the driver of a stolen truck on the A-30 highway in the municipality of Cieza, heading towards Madrid, after being caught with 14,000 bottles of whisky stolen from a vehicle depot in Molina de Segura.
The 45-year-old suspect, a resident of Madrid with a lengthy criminal record for similar offenses, is alleged to be responsible for the crimes of burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, and damage.
The investigation began when the Civil Guard learned of the theft of a tractor unit and a trailer, loaded with 14,000 bottles of whiskey, from a vehicle depot located in the municipality of Molina de Segura.
The Civil Guard determined that the truck was traveling on the A-30 motorway, heading towards Madrid, and that it could already be in the province of Albacete. Therefore, the Citizen Security and Traffic units in both provinces were activated to coordinate the search.
As a result of these operations, the Civil Guard found the truck while it was traveling near the Albacete municipality of Pozo Cañada, where it was intercepted.
The driver, surprised, jumped out of the cab and crossed the median strip, where a high-end vehicle driven by another person was waiting for him, in which he fled the scene.
The value of the recovered merchandise exceeds 170,000 euros.
While the Civil Guard was in charge of recovering the articulated vehicle and regulating traffic, at the point on the road where the truck had been stopped and abandoned by its driver, another operation was simultaneously set up to search for the escaped vehicle.
The extensive tracking, investigation, and surveillance efforts proved successful hours later, when the Civil Guard located the car, traveling in the direction of Cartagena on the same highway, as it passed through the municipality of Cieza.
The driver and sole occupant of the car at the time, a 45-year-old Spaniard from Madrid with a significant criminal record for similar incidents in several provinces, was arrested on suspicion of burglary, theft of motor vehicle use, and damage.
The detainee, the tractor unit, the trailer, and the recovered bottles, as well as the investigations conducted, have been forwarded to the Cieza (Murcia) Court of First Instance.
The investigation remains open to identify and, if necessary, arrest the driver of the car in which the detainee fled.
English 
Spanish