KEY POINTS

  • Two cars and one van filled with oranges were discovered in Seville.
  • The suspects claimed the fruits were for personal consumption.
  • The fruits appear to have been stole from a nearby warehouse.

Four tonnes of stolen oranges have been recovered by Spanish police in Seville after they pulled over two suspicious vehicles, bursting with the fruits.

After a short chase down a dirt road, police discovered that both cars were full of oranges, which came spilling out onto the road as the doors opened. The oranges had no labelling or invoices, which led to police to suspect they had been stolen.

Five people were detained as they could not explain where the four tonnes of fruit had come from. One of the suspects said they came from very far away and had been picking them up from the ground as they went, Europa Press reported.

The suspects also reportedly claimed the oranges were for personal consumption.

A van - also loaded with oranges - was later found nearby. The occupants had already fled.

The oranges appear to have come from the town of Carmona, where a theft had been reported at a warehouse some hours earlier.

According to the BBC, the police said the occupants did not have the required paperwork to be transporting such a large amount of fruit.

Spain