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Spain seizes record haul of ‘synthetic khat’ narcotic

Spain's Guardia Civil police said Wednesday they had made Europe's biggest seizure of substances derived from the khat plant, confiscating more than 3.2 tonnes of synthetic cathinones at Barcelona port.

Published: 8 June 2022 16:42 CEST
Spain seizes record haul of 'synthetic khat' narcotic
Images released by the police showed dozens of blue plastic drums used to transport the crystal-like substance, which commonly goes by the name "bath salts". Photo: Guardia Civil

The product is a derivative of a stimulant found in the leaves of the khat plant, which is native to the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

“The Guardia Civil has seized the biggest quantity of synthetic cathinones found in Europe to date”, a police statement said.

“They seized a total of 3.2 tonnes of this substance, which on the market would fetch €61 million ($65 million)”, it added.

Images released by the police showed dozens of blue plastic drums used to transport the crystal-like substance, which commonly goes by the name “bath salts”.

Khat, or qat, is a mildly narcotic leaf which is packed into the cheek and slowly chewed, releasing chemicals similar to amphetamines and resulting in a mild high.

It is very popular in Yemen and Horn of Africa countries like Ethiopia and Somalia.

Its synthetic variants, however, are “more potent than the natural compound and much more dangerous,” the Guardia Civil warned.

The investigation began at the start of the year after an operation in France uncovered a possible storage location at Barcelona port, where the drugs were shipped out to other countries in Europe.

By falsifying customs certificates and working through three companies, the international ring running the operation was able to move a large quantity of the product, police said.

For now, only one person has been arrested and police are hunting for others involved.

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CRIME

Spain seizes 1.8 tonnes of Sinaloa Cartel’s crystal meth

Spanish police said Thursday they had seized 1,800 kilos of crystal meth that Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel was trying to sell in Europe, the country's "biggest-ever seizure" of the narcotic.

Published: 16 May 2024 17:07 CEST
Spain seizes 1.8 tonnes of Sinaloa Cartel's crystal meth

Police arrested five people during the raid in the eastern Alicante province, one of them a Mexican running the cartel’s Spanish operation, a statement said.

“This is the biggest-ever seizure of crystal meth in Spain and the second largest in Europe,” Antonio Martinez Duarte, head of the police’s drug trafficking and organised crime unit, told reporters.

“Among those arrested is a Mexican citizen linked to the Sinaloa Cartel,” he added.

READ ALSO: What are the penalties for drug possession in Spain?

He did not give his name but indicated the suspect was responsible for receiving the narcotics in Spain then distributing them within Europe.

The Sinaloa Cartel is one of Mexico’s oldest, largest and most violent criminal groups whose influence remains strong despite the arrest of its founder Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman and his son.

Both have been extradited to and jailed in the United States.

During the operation, police also detained three Spaniards and a Romanian, seizing five cars, documents, a weapon and cash.

But police believe it was a one-off trafficking operation and that “Mexican organisations are not permanently based” in Spain, Martinez Duarte said.

“These organisations send a trusted person who carries out the operation in line with their interests” and once that is over, he goes back home, he explained.

The seized narcotics had been due to be shipped to central Europe.

Although Spain is one of the main drug gateways to Europe, seizures of synthetic narcotics are uncommon as most traffickers usually deal in cannabis and cocaine.

READ ALSO: Why is Spain’s Europe’s cocaine gateway?

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