Wanted fugitive held after hiding from justice for years

Police in Jerez de la Frontera have arrested a man who had spent more than two years hiding from justice and was wanted under three separate court warrants ordering his detention and immediate transfer to prison.

The man was linked by the authorities to violent drug robberies, known in Spain as vuelcos, in which armed gangs steal shipments from rival criminal groups. Police said the case involved the use of firearms.

The arrest was carried out by National Police officers after investigators from the UDEV unit in El Puerto de Santa María spent weeks tracing his movements and narrowing down his whereabouts. They eventually located him at a gym in an industrial estate in Jerez.

Once officers moved in, the suspect tried to escape through an emergency exit and ran across the car park towards nearby streets in the industrial area. Police said he climbed over several perimeter fences belonging to different business premises in an attempt to avoid arrest.

He was finally surrounded and intercepted when he tried to clear another fence, according to police. Officers described the operation as carefully coordinated because of the man’s alleged links to armed robberies involving drugs.

After his arrest, he was taken to police premises and then brought before the judicial authorities. A judge ordered his immediate remand in prison.

Operation Kali

The investigation, which police said was named Operation Kali, was led by the El Puerto de Santa María UDEV team, with support from several units in Jerez once the suspect was located.

Police said the man had remained hidden for more than two years to avoid being brought before the courts. The warrants against him had been issued by judicial bodies in Cádiz.

The case is the latest in a series of police actions in the western Costa del Sol and Cádiz province targeting people wanted on custody warrants or linked to organised crime. In this case, however, officers said the arrest was focused on a single suspect who had evaded capture for an extended period.