Axarquia police open fire in high-speed car chase

A MANHUNT has been launched after a high speed car chase and police shootout in Torrox.

It comes after officers were forced to open fire to avoid being mowed down by two high-end BMWs.

The drama unfolded after a Local Police patrol tried to stop three vehicles that “were performing suspicious and evasive manoeuvres,” an official said. But the cars sped away, leading to a pursuit.

The first, a Volkswagen Golf, headed for the A-7 motorway and was intercepted at a toll booth in Marbella several hours later, with two Spanish men, from Ceuta and Algeciras respectively, remanded in custody.

Meanwhile the other two cars, both BMW 7-series and each containing two people believed to be foreign, hurtled through the centre of Torrox Pueblo for almost three kilometres before taking a deadend turn near the town’s cemetery.

When the chasing officers realised, they parked at the end of the street, blocking most of it with their car and leaving just a two-metre gap. And as they drew their weapons and shouted for the fugitives to step out of their vehicles, the officers instead saw both spin around and accelerate towards them, leading them to open fire, aiming at the wheels and engines.

But the ploy failed and the men were forced to dive to safety as the cars shot by, sparking a major search operation. Initial reports suggest that the incident was related to drugs trafficking or robberies.