Two suspected car thieves were arrested in Torrevieja after being caught driving an £80,000 luxury vehicle stolen in the UK—with one of the men later attempting a desperate escape by vaulting a security barrier at a Civil Guard barracks.
The drama unfolded on the morning of March 5 when officers from the Civil Guard in Torrevieja spotted a high-end car with UK licence plates during a routine patrol. Something didn’t look right. The vehicle was missing the mandatory country identification sticker, immediately raising suspicions among the officers.
Police stopped the car and carried out a closer inspection. What they found quickly confirmed their doubts.
Checks on the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) revealed clear signs that it had been tampered with in several places, failing to meet the manufacturer’s original standards. After running the real vehicle details through police databases, officers confirmed the car had been reported stolen in the United Kingdom last year.
The two occupants—a 36-year-old and a 32-year-old Lithuanian national—were arrested on the spot on suspicion of handling stolen goods and document forgery.
Officers also discovered that the passenger had allegedly tried to pass himself off using a passport that did not match his appearance. Further checks revealed he had previous convictions linked to drug trafficking and organised crime and was already wanted under a European Arrest Warrant.
But the drama didn’t end there.
After being taken to the Torrevieja Civil Guard barracks, the situation escalated when the door of the police vehicle was opened. In a sudden bid for freedom, the passenger bolted from the car and attempted to flee on foot, leaping over the station’s access barrier.
The escape attempt ended badly.
The suspect crashed through and damaged the barrier during the jump, injuring himself in the process before officers quickly caught up with him and placed him back under arrest.
Because of the incident, he now faces an additional charge of criminal damage.
The recovered luxury car and both suspects were later handed over to the judicial authorities, who ordered their release under precautionary measures pending trial.
