Cigarette smuggler caught after accident

A 26 year-old car driver fleeing from a police patrol on the south highway by Grafenstein on Wednesday was found to have a boot full of smuggled cigarettes.

The driver lost control and skidded off a country road and landed in a ditch when poice checked the car they found he had a boot full of smuggled cigarettes.

The driver is a Ukrainian citizen. Driving in the direction of Villach he overtook a police patrol car with high speed on the A2. As the police signalled for him to pull over, he fled. The man was exceeding the speed limit.

The chase turned away from the highway by east Klagenfurt and raced on towards Pischeldorf.

Near St. Thomas the fleeing driver skidded off the road after having overtaken a rescue vehicle. The car landed in a ditch and the driver suffered minor injuries.

He was brought to the Klagenfurt hospital – accompanied by the police – where he was treated. The police found 1,000 packages of cigarettes in the Ukrainian’s car. The man was arrested.