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478 kilos of cocaine seized at Barajas airport

Operation against drug trafficking

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

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

The substance, packed 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 from the ENS Unit, belonging to the General Subdirectorate of Operations of the Customs and Excise Department. This unit is responsible for carrying out the risk analysis in terms of security and protection that the European Commission entrusts to the Member States.

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

The aforementioned intervention is one of the largest in recent years at Barajas Airport. In 2022, a total of 1,200 kilos of this substance were seized at the airport, while this year, the seizures during the first four months equaled last year's figures.

Following the opening of police proceedings and the notification to the courts of the discovery for alleged crimes of smuggling and against public health, investigations continue to clarify the facts and the alleged perpetrators.

Customs Supervision: Presentation of charges for smuggling and related offences 

Free telephone 900351378.

Email: denunciasvigilanciaaduanera@correo.aeat.es