Two arrested after dramatic chase in Skopje — charged for drug sale and obstructing officers
The BMW fled after officers tried to stop it on Crnogorska Street at 20:25; a service pistol was taken from an officer and later recovered.
Two young men were arrested after a high-speed pursuit in Skopje on a weekday evening that ended when their BMW crashed on the Skopje–Tetovo motorway, police said. The chase began when officers attempted to stop the car on Crnogorska Street around 20:25 after receiving information that a marijuana sale was to take place in the vehicle.
When officers signalled the BMW to stop and approached to carry out identity checks and a search, the driver accelerated, struck a utility pole and one of the occupants threw a plastic bag with marijuana out of the window. An officer drew his service pistol and, from the passenger side of the partially open window, ordered: "Stop, police." At that moment the service pistol was taken from the officer by the person in the passenger seat, and the driver restarted the vehicle and fled.
The patrol followed the BMW, which drove at high speed along Gjorche Petrov Street toward the Skopje–Tetovo motorway, ignoring the officers' lights and sirens. During the pursuit one officer fired three warning rounds into the air.
Charges and investigation
The chase ended after the car hit a guardrail on the motorway and overturned. The driver, identified as P.A. (24), and the passenger, E.P. (21), were detained at the scene. The taken service pistol was recovered, and the discarded bag with marijuana was found during a search of the area.
Together with the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Skopje, the Ministry of Interior filed criminal charges today against both men for preventing an official in performing an official duty, under Article 382, and for unauthorized production and putting into circulation of narcotics, under Article 215 of the Criminal Code. A separate criminal complaint was also filed against M.T., who is suspected of being connected to the case, for a drugs-related offence.
The Internal Control Department at the Ministry of Interior has been notified and has begun measures to determine whether there were any irregularities in the conduct of the police officers involved.
Photo: press material from the event
