British tourist arrested in Murcia after abandoning case full of drugs and trying to flee the country

Police in Spain have arrested a British holidaymaker who narrowly escaped a drugs detention and then donned a silly disguise to try to flee the country via the same airport.

The man, described as a tourist, attempted his getaway back to Manchester by thinking a cap on his head would do the trick even though a manhunt had been launched after he abandoned a suitcase with 15 kilos of cannabis just five days earlier shortly before check-in.

His rudimentary disguise, and his use of a friend to buy his second plane ticket home, failed to work and he was recognised at passport control at Corvera Airport - Murcia’s International Airport in south-east Spain.

Some of the drugs were in plastic casings with a photo of infamous Colombian drug smuggler Pablo Escobar’s face printed on them.

Confirming the arrest, the Guardia Civil said: “Officers have arrested a British man booked on a flight to Manchester from the Murcia Region International Airport as the alleged perpetrator of a drug trafficking offence after he attempted to board with nearly 15 kilograms of marihuana and hashish in his luggage.

“The operation, which forms part of a ‘safe summer operation’ special security deployment, began when Guardia Civil Customs and Border specialists detected a suspicious suitcase in the baggage hold area while carrying out a routine inspection of checked-in luggage, and initiated the protocol to locate its owner.

“The passenger who owned the suitcase, upon noticing the police activity at the terminal, decided to flee on foot and leave the airport facilities, preventing his arrest at that time.

“Following his escape, the Guardia Civil officers opened the seized luggage.

"Inside, they found a substantial shipment of drugs. In total, there were four kilos of marijuana buds distributed in six vacuum-sealed bags and more than ten kilograms of hashish distributed among five bags.

“Officers from the Guardia Civil's Customs and Borders Section at the airport launched an investigation to determine the suspect's whereabouts.

“The initial stages of the investigation yielded extensive information about the alleged drug trafficker, leading to the issue of a police warrant for his search and arrest.

“The search operation for the fugitive concluded five days after his escape.

“He returned to Corvera Airport attempting to conceal his identity by wearing a cap in order to evade security checks.

“To avoid arousing suspicion, he also used a third person to purchase a last-minute ticket to Manchester.

“As he attempted to pass through the terminal security checkpoint to leave the country, Guardia Civil officers immediately identified him and proceeded to arrest him.

“Locating and arresting him proved particularly complex due to the strict security and counter-surveillance measures the fugitive adopted during his escape.”

Last month it emerged two people had been arrested over the attempted murder of a British man at the same airport.

Spanish police said at the time they were both British nationals and later revealed they were a couple living in Scotland, with the male suspect being held as he prepared to board a flight to Edinburgh from Alicante airport and a woman detained as she flew into the same airport.

The victim, shot in the village of Santiago de la Ribera near to La Manga golf resort in front of his girlfriend, suffered life-changing injuries in the attack with reports at the time saying he had been “left paralysed from the neck down.”

The arrests occurred on 22 April and 5 May following a lengthy investigation by the Guardia Civil into the horror crime, although the police force only went public with them at the start of June.

Both suspects were described by detectives as suspected members of a “violent criminal group originating from the UK" who allegedly flew to Spain specially for the execution-style street assassination.

The victim, who has been named only as Aaron and was with an eastern European girlfriend said to be called Veronika, was shot four times in the back near his home.

He cheated death after being saved at the scene by police officers who used their own hands to plug the bullet wounds and stop him bleeding to death.

Reports at the time said he had been left tetraplegic in the attack, although this has not been confirmed by police.

The operation to catch those responsible for the November 2024 shooting was dubbed Operation Esbroya 24.

It was subsequently claimed the Brit injured had moved to his new home from Torrevieja a half-hour drive north after undisclosed problems with a criminal gang.