A man who rammed a police motorbike while trying to escape officers hunting for illegal guns has been jailed. Xhuljano Kali, 26, was sentenced to eight months in prison at Swansea Crown Court after admitting dangerous driving.
Police pursuit through Swansea
The court heard that on the afternoon of April 19 this year, two police officers in Swansea were looking for a damaged silver VW Golf containing a number of males which earlier that day had rammed a police vehicle. Intelligence suggested the occupants may have been in possession of firearms.
At 5.40pm, two motorcycle officers in the Hafod area spotted a car matching the description on Neath Road and followed it into the city centre. When the Golf stopped at traffic lights outside Swansea Central police station on Grove Place, one officer pulled up alongside and indicated for Kali to pull over. Instead, when the lights changed, the Golf accelerated away along De-La-Beche Street.
Collision and foot chase
One officer managed to pull up alongside the fleeing car again, but Kali swerved right and came into contact with the motorcycle. The officer managed to keep control of his machine. A second officer took up the pursuit, following the VW along Mansel Street and into Calvert Terrace, where Kali abandoned the vehicle and ran away along residential streets and alleyways.
Kali was eventually caught after the officer whose bike he had hit caught up with him. After putting up "significant resistance," the defendant was restrained and arrested.
Illegal immigration status
The court heard Kali had entered the UK illegally in October 2022 in a small boat, claimed asylum, and been granted immigration bail. However, he failed to attend appointments, and his asylum application was withdrawn. Immigration officers were sat at the side of court ready to detain him.
Police later established that Kali's silver VW Golf was not the one involved in the earlier ramming incident. The defendant, of Mannhiem Quay, Maritime Quarter, Swansea, has no previous convictions in the UK.
Sentencing
Hywel Davies, for Kali, said his client had skills in the construction sector and had been working "on an ad-hoc basis" in hand car washes. He said Kali had previously been beaten up by police in Greece and "panicked" when officers tried to stop him.
Judge Geraint Walters said Kali had made a "determined effort" to avoid capture. He noted the maximum sentence for dangerous driving before any discount for a guilty plea was two years, which he called "modest." With a one-third discount, Kali was sentenced to eight months in prison and banned from driving for 16 months.
