The Guardia Civil on 4 November 2026 in Villanueva de la Vera (Province of Cáceres, Extremadura) stopped a driver after a pursuit on the EX-203 and seized more than 300 grams of narcotics. According to officers, the vehicle had earlier crossed into the oncoming lane and onto the hard shoulder several times, making erratic manoeuvres involving abrupt steering, sharp acceleration and braking. When the patrol ordered the driver to stop, he accelerated and tried to get away via town entrances and side streets, endangering other road users.
During the pursuit, the driver threw a bag out of the car, according to police. After stopping him, officers identified the man; the bag contained two more packages of drugs. An on-site check reportedly found 206 grams of cocaine and 102 grams of MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy)—308 grams in total. A drug screening test at the checkpoint returned a positive result, leading to further suspicion that the man had been driving under the influence of narcotics. Such screening tests provide an initial indication and are generally backed up by laboratory analyses. Officers also found that his driving licence had expired in June 2026; this may also lead to a separate administrative offence procedure.
The Guardia Civil lists the arrested man as a suspect in several offences: dangerous driving, driving under the influence of drugs and an offence against public health on suspicion of drug trafficking. The paperwork was prepared and passed to the competent judicial authority. The information available did not disclose further details about the man’s identity, laboratory results or possible links to larger drug-trafficking networks. The presumption of innocence applies until a court rules otherwise.
The arrest is part of recurring operations by the Guardia Civil in the La Vera comarca focusing on street-level drug dealing and road safety. The EX-203 connects several towns in the area; the Guardia Civil is responsible for traffic checks and crime prevention on roads between towns. The current incident involves the pursuit on the EX-203 and the seizure of 308 grams of drugs on 4 November. The competent court will decide whether to order pre-trial detention and what further procedural steps to take; no such decisions had been made by the time of publication.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).