Lleida will remain at the centre of a major car theft investigation after Spain’s Supreme Court confirmed that Instruction Court Number 2 in the city is the competent court to lead the case.
The network is accused of stealing vehicles of the same model across Spain and then exporting them by ship to Gambia and other African countries.
The ruling from the High Court’s criminal chamber is final and cannot be appealed. It settles a jurisdictional dispute with a court in Almería, which had opened proceedings after one suspect appeared in a separate investigation there linked to a single theft of the same model.
The Supreme Court said the main part of the police and judicial investigation has developed in Lleida, the capital of the Segrià region. That is why the city court will continue to oversee the case.
The decision gives a clear legal route for a complex investigation involving organised crime across several Spanish regions. It also means the evidence gathered so far will stay under the court that has handled the main inquiry.
For more Catalonia-wide court and public safety coverage, see our news page.
