• The drugs were hidden in a false bottom of a vehicle traveling on the regular ferry service between Barcelona and Palma.

• A 74-year-old man has been arrested as the suspected perpetrator of a drug trafficking offense.

January 22, 2026. Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard, acting under the functional dependence of the Customs and Excise Administrator. The Tax Agency has arrested a man as the alleged perpetrator of a drug trafficking offense in the port of Palma and seized 44 kilos of cocaine that was hidden in a false bottom of a vehicle traveling on the ship of the regular line between Barcelona and Palma.

As part of the so-called 'Tebal' operation, on the morning of Wednesday, January 21, Customs Surveillance officials and Civil Guard agents belonging to the Udaiff of the port of Palma de Mallorca, Usesic (Security Unit of the Palma Command), assisted by a canine guide, carried out an intensive and random fiscal verification point within the customs territory on the occasion of the disembarkation of the regular line ship with route Barcelona-Palma, at the commercial dock.

Once the ship was docked, the verification and inspection of the vehicles that were getting off it was carried out. At that moment, the inspection of both the exterior and interior of a vehicle was initiated by the agents and a drug-detecting dog. Once inside, the dog from the Canine Service showed marked interest in a specific area of the vehicle, and the officers proceeded to conduct a manual inspection. Hidden in a false bottom, the agents found 38 tablets with different logos, yielding a gross weight of 44 kilos. In addition, 5,200 euros were seized. The estimated value of the seized drugs would be 1.2 million euros.

The agents proceeded to check the substance using chemical detectors, with a positive result for cocaine.

Therefore, the investigators proceeded to arrest a 74-year-old man as the alleged perpetrator of a drug trafficking offense, who will be placed at the disposal of the competent judicial authority. 

They are available for your Download images of the operation at this link.