Operation against drug trafficking

• The drug was discovered inside a container in the hold of a flight from Bolivia

May 30, 2023.- The Customs and Special Tax Administration of Madrid, belonging to the Madrid Special Delegation of the Tax Agency, has carried out the intervention at the Adolfo Suárez airport Madrid-Barajas of 478 kilos of cocaine that was in the hold of a flight from the international airport of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in Bolivia. 

The substance, packaged in twelve packages and transported in a warehouse container, was discovered last February after the shipment was selected for control using risk analysis techniques by officials of the ENS Unit, belonging to the General Subdirectorate. of Operations of the Department of Customs and Excise. This unit is in charge of carrying out the risk analysis in terms of security and protection that the European Commission entrusts to the Member States.

When the officials of the Local Risk Analysis Unit of the Customs Administration of Madrid appeared at the point of unloading the merchandise, they observed the presence of the twelve packages that had not been declared at the time of boarding and departure of the aircraft in origin, all of them containing quadrangular tablets ('bricks') wrapped in plastic film, inside which was a substance that, after carrying out an 'in situ' analytical test, gave a positive result for cocaine.

The aforementioned intervention is one of the largest in recent years at the Barajas airport. In 2022, a total of 1,200 kilos of this substance were intervened at the airport, while in the current year the interventions during the first four months equal last year's records.

After the opening of police proceedings and the Justice being informed of said discovery for the alleged crime of smuggling and against public health, investigations continue to clarify the facts and those allegedly responsible.