The Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office warns of the growth of drug trafficking in Canary Islands. Specifically, the provincial delegate in Las Palmas warns of the "increase in heroin seized", but also of the increase in cocaine. This is stated in the annual report of the Special Anti-Drug Prosecutor's Office of 2023.
The 2022 World Drug Report and the United Nations report already anticipated "the omnipresence" of drugs throughout Europe under the slogan: "Everywhere, everything and everyone." Thus, both exposed the increase of "all kinds of substances, traffickers and consumers of all kinds" on the continent. In addition, they pointed out "there is more cocaine available than ever and of greater purity."
In Europe, the ports that are most concerned about the entry of cocaine are those of Antwerp (Belgium) and Rotterdam (Netherlands), but also those of Valencia, the third most important, and those of Barcelona and Algeciras. At this point, Anti-Drugs makes a special mention of the route that connects South America with the Canary Islands and points out that "it should be the object of attention", due to the presence of the Brazilian First Capital Command, the most important drug trafficking network in Brazil.
According to the report, in the province of Las Palmas the procedures for drug trafficking grew by 38.36% in 2022, compared to the previous year. So, 1,331 procedures were registered, a figure higher than that of 2018. Meanwhile, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife only 416 have been registered.
What's more, at the beginning of August the Civil Guard, in coordination with the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, seized 289 kilograms of cocaine that were transported in a merchant ship from Brazil.
The Public Prosecutor's Office in its report addresses in a specific section the problem of drug trafficking, especially cocaine, which enters through the sea. On many occasions, these seizures are carried out in international waters and in the containers of the ports. For this, drug traffickers use "different and imaginative concealment and recovery techniques."
Galicia, Andalusia and Valencia "continue to lead the entry of cocaine", while "the role of the Canary Islands increases", where the entry of this substance also grows. It also highlights that "a certain growth in the seizure of synthetic drugs is observed in provinces generally linked to tourism."
Spain, main producer of cannabis
Spain "continues to be an important reference" for drug traffickers. So much so that the Iberian country has become "the first producer of cannabis in the European Union."
The Public Prosecutor's Office states that "this condition as a producing country" means that "it is an economically accessible substance" and that "foreign criminal organizations" are installed in Spain, each time "more violent." Proof of this is "the largest seizure of weapons" and the "increase in fights generated" by the "drug robberies between organizations."
The slowness of Justice
The Prosecutor's Office mentions "the delays and delays" of the Administration of Justice, which have grown after the pandemic and cause "a perverse effect" on the holding of drug trafficking trials. "The passage of time benefits the accused, exhausts the terms of provisional imprisonment with the consequent provisional release and facilitates the frequent disappearance of the defendants and the consequent declaration of rebellion," he concludes.
