Police crack down on illegal street racing in Malaga: 50 fines imposed

Malaga’s local police have disrupted an illegal street racing meetup using drones and mobile speed radars, issuing around 50 fines.

Some 30 officers from various units and two drones were deployed as part of an ongoing operation to prevent unauthorised vehicle gatherings over the weekends.

The drivers had gathered at the fairgrounds, on the esplanade of Cortijo de Torres but a visual police presence forced them to relocate. They headed to a new location at the university campus extension, around Avenida Jenofonte and Calle Arquitecto Francisco Peñalosa.

At the new meeting point, the drivers of the modified cars again found several patrols of local police cutting off access to the illegal gathering.

Police also carried out a speed check in the area, leading to a series of offences. These included 30 administrative offenses, one criminal charge for speeding, as the driver was travelling at 140 km/h on a road with a 50km/h limit. Another driver faces charges for reckless driving as the driver was doing doughnuts at high speed, while further charges included driving in the wrong direction; two for negligent driving; three for double parking and several for breaching insurance policies and vehicle documentation.

Additional charges included six for failing to pass the Technical Vehicle Inspection (ITV), driving without a licence, and driving under the influence. Eleven reports were also issued for possession of drugs.

As reported by the Security Department of Malaga city council, this operation forms part of a strategy drawn out over several months by the local police to prevent gatherings of this kind.

In addition, the officers are monitoring social media to detect calls for gatherings and take pre-emptive action. "The aim is to put an end to these meetups that put the safety of the participants and other road users at risk," they explained in the press release.