• The drugs were hidden in shampoo bottles

September 3, 2026. Tax Agency officials and Civil Guard agents, in a joint operation, have arrested a man arriving on a flight from Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) for carrying more than eight kilos of 'liquid cocaine' (cocaine diluted in liquids) inside shampoo bottles in his luggage.

The operation took place when investigators were monitoring flights with international connections and randomly identified a passenger of Spanish nationality, coming from Santo Domingo, who was carrying two suitcases checked in his name.

After being questioned at Customs, he stated that he had nothing to declare, so, following the usual customs procedure, his luggage was viewed by the 'X-ray' scanner. The image showed several shampoo bottles with a different product density than usual.

Upon opening the containers in the presence of the passenger, the investigators observed a small reservoir attached to the outlet of the bottle that contained the original product, so that, in case of verification, it would be the shampoo that came out. Once the rest of the contents of the containers were checked, it was found that they contained a white liquid with a strong chemical smell. Suspecting that it might be some kind of narcotic substance, they were subjected to the 'narcotest' reagent, which gave a positive result for cocaine.

After weighing the substance, it was found to amount to 8.2 kilos.

Following this, a 51-year-old Spanish man was arrested for an alleged crime against public health (drug trafficking). The judge has ordered his imprisonment.

The investigation has been carried out by officials from the Regional Customs and Special Taxes Unit of the Tax Agency in Valencia and by agents from the UDAIFF and the Fiscal and Borders Section of the Civil Guard at Valencia airport. 

The proceedings were delivered to the Civil and Instruction Section of the Court of Quart de Poblet, Plaza number 2.