Swede steals gas truck after wild party night

A SWEDE who took police on a high-speed chase through Barcelona at the wheel of a stolen truck full of gas cylinders had partied hard the previous night, authorities said yesterday.

Joakim Robin Berggren was detained after the chase on Tuesday, which had initially sparked fears of an attempted attack similar to those that took place last year in the French city of Nice and in Berlin.

But it soon emerged that this was no planned attack, with the Swede, 32, likely intoxicated.

Catalonia’s regional interior department director, Jordi Jane, said Berggren had spent the night partying.

“He spent a lot of money and did things that very likely gave him constant euphoria for many hours,” he said, implying that he had taken drugs.

Come morning, witnesses said, the Swede had shown erratic behaviour and had tried to rob several vehicles before managing to steal the small butane truck, loaded with 200 gas bottles.

After being chased by police for close to 3km and losing half the bottles, the truck finally stopped after having turned down the wrong way of a ring road, hit several cars and finally a wall.

Police also fired on the truck in a bid to stop it.

Three people were slightly injured, including a Brazilian woman who was hit by a falling gas bottle during the chase.

Jane said the driver, who was not hurt, had been detained and charged with stealing a vehicle, attacking police agents, reckless driving, causing injury and damage.

He will now be questioned by a judge who will confirm or reject the police charges.

Berggren, who is now in hospital, arrived in Barcelona on Monday from Moscow, to where he had travelled from Copenhagen.

His Swedish record mentions drug convictions, fines and jail time. – AFP