A manhunt is underway in southern Spain after a driver abandoned a van containing 423kg of cocaine before fleeing across a motorway and jumping into a stream to escape.
The extraordinary discovery was made near Talavera la Real, in Badajoz, after officers spotted the vehicle carrying out a suspicious manoeuvre on August 13.
In a press release today, the force said it began following the vehicle along the EX-300 before signalling for it to stop as it joined the A-5 motorway towards Portugal.
The driver then dramatically slowed down, jumped out of the vehicle and ran across the motorway’s central reservation before fleeing through the countryside.
Officers initially gave chase on foot but lost sight of him after he jumped into a nearby stream.
They were forced to return to the abandoned van because it had been left obstructing traffic and posed a ‘real risk’ to other motorists.
The van, which was later found to belong to a rental company, was towed to Guardia Civil facilities and opened.
Inside investigators discovered 17 sports bags containing a total of 423kg of cocaine, divided into packages.
The Guardia Civil estimates the enormous haul could have produced around 2,004,700 individual doses on the illicit market and had a street value running into several million euros.
Officials said it was the largest cocaine seizure ever made by the Guardia Civil in Badajoz province.
Despite the scale of the discovery, the driver had still not been identified when authorities presented details of the operation.
Investigators are working to establish his identity and locate him, while also attempting to determine where the cocaine originated and its intended destination.
Guardia Civil officials suspect the shipment could be linked to major criminal organisations operating in neighbouring Spanish regions.
Andres Manuel Velarde, head of the Guardia Civil in Extremadura, said investigators were increasingly concerned that organised crime groups could be moving into areas where they have not traditionally operated due to police pressure elsewhere.
