A joint operation by the Tax Agency and the Guardia Civil

• It is one of the largest seizures of this type of medicine in recent years, reaching a value of almost 100,000 euros.

February 14, 2025.- On Tuesday, February 11, the Tax Agency and the Civil Guard seized 20,208 sildenafil tablets - a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction - that a passenger was carrying in his luggage, valued at 94,169.28 euros, at Barcelona airport.

The intervention took place at 6:00 p.m. in Terminal 1 of Barcelona-El Prat Airport, when officials from the Tax Agency and agents from the Fiscal and Border Analysis and Investigation Unit (UDAIFF) of the Civil Guard, in the framework of baggage controls, detected the presence of a large quantity of these drugs in a passenger's checked luggage.

The traveller, a 22-year-old citizen with Spanish and Dominican nationality, had arrived on a flight from Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) and was unable to justify the legal origin of the medicines or present the necessary authorisation for their transport.

In light of these events, the Civil Guard proceeded to arrest him for an alleged crime against public health in relation to medicines, for the illegal introduction of the drug.

Sildenafil, better known by its active ingredient Viagra, is mainly used for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. Its marketing and use are regulated and require a medical prescription. Consumption without health supervision or purchase through unauthorized channels can pose serious health risks, as their authenticity, quality or storage conditions are not guaranteed.

The seized material has been made available to the National Institute of Toxicology in Barcelona, while the detainee has been placed at the disposal of the Investigative Court No. 3 of El Prat de Llobregat (Barcelona).