Spanish police launched a manhunt for the suspected ringleader of a gang sending drugs to Ireland after he fled officers who went to tick him off for using his mobile phone in a petrol station.
The alleged drug trafficker mistakenly thought he was about to be arrested for the serious offences he ended up being held over.
But it emerged on Friday the patrol cops only intended telling him not to use his phone at the filling station near Madrid.
READ MORE: Pictured: The moment Spanish cops smash gang that was sending cannabis to Ireland by post
The Brit abandoned his vehicle with 54 kilos of marihuana buds inside and vanished after fleeing on foot and jumping over several fences restricting easy access to high-speed train lines.
His surprise reaction and the subsequent drug find led to him being arrested at a hideaway 260 miles away on the Costa Blanca two months later.
Police went public with the operation to snare their target and three other suspects - two Brits and a Romanian woman aged between 23 and 33 - on Thursday.
The Civil Guard said they had smashed the gang after intercepting parcels containing cannabis at Madrid Airport that had been sent from the Costa Blanca and were on their way to Ireland by post.
The suspected ringleader has been remanded in custody following a court appearance and his alleged accomplices released on bail pending an ongoing investigation.
The police operation, codenamed Operation Topila, was launched in February after the first interception.
The petrol station incident occurred in March in the town of Rivas Vaciamadrid near the Spanish capital.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Alicante said: “As part of Operation Topila a criminal gang who were sending cannabis from San Miguel de Salinas and Orihuela Costa to Ireland in parcels has been smashed.
“The gang members also sold the drugs in the local area.
“All the members of the gang have been arrested and the suspected ringleader sent to prison following a court appearance.
“The investigation began in February when more than two kilos of cannabis was discovered in two parcels at Adolfo Suarez-Madrid Barajas Airport that had come from Orihuela Costa and San Miguel de Salinas and were bound for Ireland.”
Revealing the second inception of a parcel containing drugs occurred before the March incident which led to the near-capture of the suspected British ringleader, the force added in a statement: “In March in Rivas Vaciamadrid in the Madrid region the suspect thought he was about to be arrested and fled a petrol station after confronting officers in a Civil Guard patrol car there.
“During his escape he jumped over several access barriers protecting high-speed train tracks and abandoned a vehicle with four suitcases inside containing 54 kilos of cannabis.
“It was subsequently discovered he was hiding at an address in San Miguel de Salinas with two compatriots who were responsible for logistical assistance and the sale of drugs to local users.
“The property was protected with security cameras and three guard dogs.”
The arrests are understood to have occurred between May 18 and May 22.
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